NBA Playoffs 2010 : Chicago Bulls 83 @ 96 Cleveland Cavaliers (0 - 1 for Cleveland Cavaliers)

CLEVELAND -- By the middle of the first quarter, Cleveland answered any doubts about rust, injuries or how well Antawn Jamison would play alongside Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Shaquille O'Neal.

But none of that should be a big surprise. After all, this is how teams with championship aspirations are supposed to open the playoffs.

Final score: Cleveland 96, visiting Chicago 83, to give the Cavaliers a 1-0 series lead on Saturday.

The Cavs' offense looked as cohesive as ever, their defense as suffocating as it had been at any time during the regular season. Their rebounding, in particular, was outstanding.

So much for the fans' nervousness over LeBron James (24 points, five assists) resting for the final four regular season games, or how O'Neal (12 points, five rebounds) would fare after missing nearly two months with a surgically repaired thumb.

For most of the afternoon, the Cavs were determined, sharp and largely unconcerned.

"This is what it's all about," said Jamison, who finished with 15 points and a game-high 10 boards in his first playoff game as a Cavalier. "We're in a position to be very successful. The crowd is pulling for us and we're having fun. I'm just happy to be in this situation."

On top of playing team basketball in the truest sense and hustling after every loose ball and rebound (finishing with a resounding 50-31 rebounding edge), the Cavs displayed depth and balance, with no one player attempting more than 15 field goals.

The Bulls, on the other hand, were content to let point guard Derrick Rose do the majority of the heavy lifting. He scored a game-high 28, but needed 26 shots to do it. Forward Luol Deng (4-for-11) was the only other Bull to attempt more than 10.

But the return of O'Neal, and the Cavs' dominance near the basket, were really the stories of this game.

"Tonight was a night where we could see all the hard work that [O'Neal] has put in the past 6-8 weeks," said Cavs coach Mike Brown. "He's been working his tail off to get ready for this."

O'Neal often talks about his 17 years in the league, how there are few things he hasn't seen or done on the court. What he doesn't say is how, even at the age of 38, he can pull off the occasional pleasant surprise. Like when he spun away from spry Bulls big man Joakim Noah on the baseline for a quick two-handed slam.

Or how he also held his ground when Noah came charging toward him with the ball near the basket. Noah, clearly, got the worst of it on that play, too.

"Noah is a valuable piece for them, and he has to go to sleep worrying about what he will do with Shaq on Monday [in Game 2]," said Cavs point guard Mo Williams. "When Shaq gets that basketball, he can dictate the game."

Williams wasn't too bad himself, scoring 19 points and passing for 10 assists.

Then, of course, there was James, who O'Neal referred to as the "unanimous MVP" after the game.

James never forced a thing, and really only felt the need to take over briefly, after the Bulls had cut a 22-point deficit to seven late in the game.

"Quite frankly, I'm impressed that a guy who's so young has the know-how to keep everybody together," O'Neal said of the 25-year-old James. "I said earlier in the season that I'm one of those CEOs who has been hired as a consultant. This is LeBron's corporation."

And after one playoff game, it's a corporation that appears to be well on its way to becoming a Fortune 500 company. Or at least, a basketball team that has a very good shot to accomplish some very good things.

That said, the Bulls have no plans to concede anything at this point. No less than O'Neal admitted the Cavs "have our hands full with a young and energetic team."

Still, the Bulls also realize they have to improve in a number of areas (read: defense and rebounding) if they are to make this a series.

"We'll make our adjustments, but we're gonna have to do a lot better job of rebounding the ball to get out in the open court and get some easy ones," said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. "We'll have to do a better job with our tempo and picking our spots."

Rose added that things could be different in Game 2.

"We can't wait to play again; I know I can't," he said. "It's going to be a fun series. This is something I live for. I think about it every day, every minute of the day, playing against the best team in the NBA and one of the best players in the NBA."

The Cavs shot 46 percent (39-for-84) on the day, compared to 42 percent (37-for-87) for the Bulls -- who attempted just seven 3-pointers and made only one.