NIKOLA MIROTIC scored 19 points and Derrick Rose added 18 to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 97-95 victory over the Cleveland Cavaliers in their season opener with U.S. President Barack Obama watching Tuesday night.

    After Pau Gasol blocked LeBron James’ potential tying layup in the closing seconds, Jimmy Butler then broke up an inbounds pass intended for James as time expired.

    Obama sat courtside for most of the game as his beloved Bulls got contributions from a variety of players to knock off the defending Eastern Conference champions and give Fred Hoiberg a narrow win in his first game.

    “That is how we are going to win every game,” Rose said. “It kind of feels good going into every game knowing you have the possibility of winning. You have a chance of winning every game because we are so good and deep.”

    James scored 25 points and grabbed 10 rebounds, but the Cavaliers came up short against the team they knocked out in the conference semifinals last season.

    The Bulls, playing a more open offense with Hoiberg than they did under Tom Thibodeau, did not exactly light it up. But they came away with a promising win.

    Rose, playing with a mask to protect his fractured left orbital, shot just 8 of 22 after missing almost the entire preseason.

    Mirotic, starting over Joakim Noah, nailed three 3-pointers.

    Butler added 17 points and two steals to go with that deflected pass. Gasol blocked six shots.

    The Cavaliers got 19 points and seven assists from Mo Williams, filling in while Kyrie Irving recovers from a fractured left kneecap. Kevin Love added 18 points and eight rebounds.

    “We gave ourselves a chance to win,” James said. “That’s all you can ask.”

    The Cavaliers took an 83-82 lead on a floater by James with 5:32 left in the game.

    Mirotic immediately converted a three-point play after getting fouled by Tristan Thompson on a baseline floater. That started an 11-2 run that put Chicago back on top 93-85 with 2:42 left.

    But just when it looked like the lead was safe, the Cavaliers came roaring back again.

    Love nailed back-to-back 3-pointers to make it 97-95 with 33 seconds remaining. After a miss by Rose with 10 seconds remaining, a driving James got swatted by Gasol.

    The ball bounced out along the baseline. The Bulls had no doubt this time that James was getting the final shot.

    They probably thought the same thing at the end of Game 4 of the conference semifinals in Chicago. In that one, Cavaliers coach David Blatt designed a play that had James taking the ball out. He vetoed it and drained a corner jumper at the buzzer to give Cleveland the victory.

    Things didn’t turn out so well this time for the Cavaliers. Butler broke up Williams’ inbound pass.(SD-Agencies)