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If you want the Chicago Bulls to win, just give them a home game on TNT. It’s that simple.

It appeared early that LeBron James was going to have one of those games, but he slowed in the second half as the Bulls overcame an 11-point deficit to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 99-93 on Thursday night. LeBron finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists while Jimmy Butler scored 25 points with six rebounds and five assists for the Bulls.

Here are some takeaways from the game.

Chicago loves TNT

The Bulls rattled off their 20th straight TNT home win on Thursday. They last lost a home game on the Turner network in February 2013, and the win moved them within a game of the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Bulls own the Cavs

No seriously. Thursday’s win gave the Bulls a clean 4-0 sweep for the season series with the Cavs. A playoff series between the two might not have the same results, but it makes you think that the Bulls have something that the Cavs really don’t like, and could at least give them a little trouble in the playoffs. Anything but a cake-walk in the first round would be something new for a LeBron-led team, and could make a potential trip to the Finals a little more difficult for the defending champs.

Cavs lose grip on No. 1 seed

There’s no way to sugarcoat it -- the Cavs are struggling. With Thursday’s loss, Cleveland fell out of the No. 1 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Boston Celtics, who last owned the best record in the East in March of 2011, take over the top spot by half a game.

Sure the Bulls played well (for the Bulls), but the real story is the Cavs’ continuing decline. NBA fans and experts alike keep repeating the same refrain: “They’ll figure it out in the playoffs.” But the type of basketball Cleveland is playing is hardly inspiring that sort of confidence.

LeBron and Co. have lost three in a row, five of seven, have gone 6-9 since March 1 and are 19-20 since Jan. 1 -- not exactly trending in the right direction heading into the postseason. Meanwhile Boston is playing some of the best basketball in the NBA, going 10-5 since March 1 and finally getting healthy.

Suddenly the predetermined rubber match with the Warriors in the Finals doesn’t look like such a sure thing.

Move over Shaq

With a free throw in the fourth quarter, LeBron passed Shaquille O’Neal to move into seventh on the NBA’s all-time scoring list. It’s easy to forget that James is just 32 years old, and that he has a legitimate chance to catch and pass Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the league’s all-time leading scorer.

Kyrie stays cold

One reason for the Cavs’ three straight losses is Kyrie Irving’s dismal shooting. The All-Star went 7-20 on Thursday and is now 19-56 over his last three games. It’s surely just a slump for Irving, but it underscores how reliant the Cavs are on the scoring of the Big Three, particularly Irving and James. If one of them misses an extended period of time in the playoffs or has a few off games against a quality opponent, Cleveland could really struggle to score.

Niiiiikola

Whatever Nikola Mirotic has been doing for the past four games, he needs to do more of it. The 6-foot-10 forward scored exactly 28 points for the third time in the last four games, shooting 9-14 from the field, including 6-11 on 3-pointers. After a promising first two seasons, Mirotic was expected to take a step forward this season. Instead he regressed, completely disappearing from Fred Hoiberg’s rotation at times. If Mirotic can finish with a flurry and give the Bulls some hope that he can provide consistent help for Butler on the offensive end moving forward, the season might not be a total loss for Chicago.