VIDEO: Butler swats away Cavs' inbounds pass to seal Bulls' opening-night win

The Chicago Bulls almost let a double-digit lead slip in the waning minutes of their season opener against the Cleveland Cavaliers, but they preserved to earn a 97-95 victory with two herculean defensive plays in the game's final five seconds.

After Pau Gasol swatted LeBron James' game-tying layup attempt out of bounds, the Cavs drew up an inbounds play seemingly designed to get James the ball around the free-throw line.

With Mo Williams inbounding from the baseline and 3.6 seconds left on the clock, Tristan Thompson tried to spring James with a pin-down screen on Jimmy Butler. But Butler fought his way around the screen, leaped to deflect Williams' pass before James could get a hand on it, and then swatted the loose ball towards midcourt as time expired.