Joakim Noah produced a career high in points
with 21 and grabbed a game-best 16 rebounds, as the Bulls hung on for a 93-90
win against the Bobcats at United Center.
John Salmons led all scorers with 27 points, knocking down a pair of three-
pointers along the way, and added seven boards and six assists to the victory.
Luol Deng scored 14 and secured 11 caroms while Derrick Rose checked in with
13 points for Chicago, which posted a third straight win a day after losing
big man Tyrus Thomas for up to six weeks with a broken left forearm.
The Bobcats, meanwhile, are coming off a very impressive win over the visiting
Atlanta Hawks on Friday.
Boris Diaw led the visitors with 20 points while pulling down seven boards and
dishing out five assists. Raymond Felton posted 14 points and a game-high 10
assists and Tyson Chandler contributed 13 points and seven boards in the loss,
Charlotte's first in three games.
"We had too many empty possessions, which has been a problem for us all year,"
Bobcats head coach Larry Brown said.
Chicago entered the final quarter with a three-point lead that grew to nine
right out of the gate on Deng's jumper just over two minutes in.
Diaw stemmed the tide with a three-pointer and later knocked down a jump shot
following a Vladimir Radmanovic three to get Charlotte back within 83-82 at
the 5 1/2-minute mark.
Salmons responded with a three-pointer of his own that began a 9-3 spurt for
the Bulls, who went ahead 92-85 on Deng's jumper to cap the stretch with 2:40
to play.
Chicago turned it over on its next possession and Deng followed with a miss,
setting the tone for an inept finish. The Bobcats were allowed to scratch back
within two, 92-90, while the Bulls missed five straight free throws. Salmons
finally hit the back end of his trip to the line with 19.8 seconds left to
make it a three-point game.
Flip Murray couldn't get a pair of three-point tries to fall on Charlotte's
last chance with the ball.
The first half was played close as Charlotte emerged from the first quarter
holding a 28-26 lead and pushed its advantage to seven, 53-46, at the break
thanks mostly to the three-ball.
Radmanovic hit a pair through the middle stages of the session while Felton
and Stephen Graham each nailed one from beyond the arc coming down the
stretch.
The Bulls surged late in the third, though, scoring the final 12 points to
take a 73-30 lead into the final 12 minutes.
"We came out aggressive in the third quarter," Salmons said. "We started
getting some shots to fall and got on the boards."
A Gerald Wallace trifecta had the Bobcats ahead nine, 70-61, but six straight
points from Kirk Hinrich was followed by Noah getting a pair of buckets from
the lane to drop through for a three-point edge.
Game Notes
The Bulls are a perfect 3-0 in the Windy City this season and are 8-2 all-time
against the Bobcats at the United Center...Thomas hurt the arm during a weight
training session and will undergo surgery on Saturday. A solid defensive
presence, the LSU product has averaged 8.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 1.8 blocks
in four games this season...Hinrich finished with nine points, seven assists
and four rebounds for Chicago, which shot an even 50 percent from the field
and 44.4 percent (4-of-9) from three-point range...Charlotte drained 12-of-29
three-point attempts (41.4 percent) but shot 39.5 percent as a whole...Wallace
and Radmanovic had 12 points apiece with former adding nine rebounds.
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