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Final Score: Cleveland 95 - Chicago 100

Chicago, IL (Sports Network) - Tyrus Thomas recorded 20 points, 14 rebounds, three blocks and several momentum-changing dunks in Chicago's surprising 100-95 victory over the playoff-bound Cleveland Cavaliers.

Luol Deng dropped a team-high 21 points to help the Bulls erase a three-game losing streak. Joakim Noah added 17 points and 11 rebounds, and Ben Gordon finished with 16 points for Chicago, which was eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday.

"We just came out and played hard," Thomas said. "The important thing is that we wanted to come out and finish the season strong. We owe the team, the fans and the city to finish the season strong."

LeBron James was sensational in the first quarter, scoring 24 of his game-high 34 points in the opening frame for Cleveland. After the first, however, the MVP candidate shot just 3-of-11 from the floor. Joe Smith tallied 20 points, while Delonte West and Zydrunas Ilgauskas chipped in 16 and 12, respectively.

Despite the loss, Cleveland maintained its two-game lead for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference as Washington fell to Detroit, 102-74.

The Bulls looked to be the team on the verge of the playoffs in the third stanza. Using the transition game to their advantage, the Bulls ripped off a 15-3 run that showcased some highlight reel dunks by Thomas and Deng.

The Cavs were stymied offensively, especially James, who showed the effects of a stiff back by lying on the sidelines in the waning moments of the third. After the huge opening period, Cleveland netted just nine field goals in the next 24 minutes and trailed 82-65.

With their leader still nursing his injury, the Cavaliers cut the lead to 85-78 with just over eight minutes to play. James returned to the lineup at the 6:30 mark of the fourth, and Cleveland inexplicably began to struggle from the floor.

Chicago maintained its lead throughout at the free-throw line, and Thomas shifted any momentum going towards the Cavs with a putback dunk over Anderson Varejao for a 94-82 Bulls lead with less than four minutes to play.

With under 30 seconds to go, James attempted a three-pointer that would have made it a one-possession game, but he was off the mark and the Bulls came away victorious.

"We thoroughly got out behinds kicked tonight," Cavs coach Mike Brown said. "Their bigs dominated the game. They rebounded, dunked the ball and just controlled the game all night. I'm embarrassed with the way we played as a team. We've got to improve on this or we'll get our behinds kicked going into the playoffs if we don't get focused."

James put on a show in the first quarter, highlighted by a flurry in the final two minutes. In that span, the superstar scored via dunk, layup, two free throws, a jumper from the top of the key and a pair of three-pointers. He accounted for the final 16 Cleveland points and tallied a franchise-record- tying 24 points in one quarter on 10-of-10 shooting from the field.

"We got into our offense," James said. "I made shots in our offense. I didn't make many plays in the first quarter. In the first quarter, our ball movement was great. That's why I was getting so many shots. I had one or two where I broke a guy down in transition and got a layup, but if you look at it, in the first quarter coming off of offensive sets, and making things happen, there was good movement by all of us."

Behind the one-man show, Cleveland led 33-25 after the first.

James cooled off in the second and no teammate stepped up to replace his production. Trailing 41-39 at the midway point of the quarter, the Bulls mounted a 12-1 run that allowed the home team to take a 53-47 lead into halftime.