Round 1 Game 1 (04/17/10), Bulls @ Cavaliers

That's not to say the Bulls can't make these Eastern Conference quarterfinals competitive after dropping Game 1 96-83 Saturday afternoon at Quicken Loans Arena.

It is to say the late-season buzz they created by winning 10 of 14 games got smothered with more smash and bash than flash and dash.

For all the talk of LeBron James' supremacy — and his line of 24 points, six rebounds, five assists and four blocks didn't disappoint — the Cavaliers won this one because they outrebounded the Bulls 50-38 and piled up a 42-26 edge in second-chance points.

Joakim Noah and Brad Miller, meet Shaquille O'Neal's elbows and Anderson Varejao's floppy locks. [...]