Noah is just ducky in Bulls' 87-86 win over Bucks
It was only the preseason, but Bulls center Joakim Noah might have turned in the game of his professional life Tuesday night, finishing with 20 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks in an 87-86 victory over Milwaukee at the United Center.
Following the game, Noah made sure to pay tribute to veteran center Brad Miller. If Miller hadn't stayed home with the flu, Noah probably wouldn't have played 341/2 minutes.
"Let's not forget the 'Big Duck,' Brad Miller," Noah said while sitting at his locker.
Who?
"That's his name; that's what we call him," Noah revealed without further explanation.
There's no point arguing with someone who piled up an astonishing 16 points and 11 rebounds by halftime. That's nice work against any NBA opponent, but it obviously helped that Bucks center Andrew Bogut didn't suit up for the game.
Most of Noah's first-half production came against 6-foot-9 Hakim Warrick and 37-year-old Kurt Thomas. Milwaukee used 6-11 veteran Dan Gadzuric more often after halftime.
"It doesn't really mean anything, but it feels good to play well and win our first game back at the UC," Noah said. "It's more fun to play than to watch."
Noah cramped up in the third quarter and figured to spend the rest of the night on the bench. But he was called back to action when former Florida teammate Chris Richard fouled out with 9:16 remaining.
The return to the floor allowed Noah to tack on a nice sequence in the fourth quarter, which started with a pretty post hook over Gadzuric. The third-year center then blocked Gadzuric's turnaround and a Brandon Jennings' drive on consecutive defensive possessions.
If Noah knocks down a few more hook shots, maybe coach Vinny Del Negro will start looking to him for post offense.
"Let's not go that far," Noah said. "But I'm feeling more comfortable. I even shot a couple jump shots today. I haven't made one yet, but coach has confidence in me and tells me to shoot it all the time."
Rookie forward Taj Gibson also contributed a double-double, finishing with 15 points and 10 rebounds, while hitting 7 of 10 shots from the field. The Bulls' other draft pick, James Johnson, did little for three quarters, then scored 10 points in the fourth.
Disappointing for the Bulls (3-1) was poor shooting from Luol Deng (3-for-10) and John Salmons (2-for-8). With Ben Gordon moving on to Detroit, the Bulls will need the starting wings to show up most every night this summer.
Kirk Hinrich (5-for-14, 13 points) fared the best among the Bulls' perimeter players.
"We've got to get Derrick (Rose), Tyrus (Thomas) and Brad back," Del Negro said. "We're missing three of our key guys. We have such mixed lineups out there, it makes it difficult to see exactly where you're at."
The Bulls held the lead for most of the fourth quarter. But after committing a shot-clock violation, they allowed Milwaukee to tie the score at 86-86 on a 3-pointer by rookie Jodie Meeks with 29.7 seconds left.
Jannero Pargo drove to the basket, drew a foul and knocked down a free throw that turned out to be the game-winner.
Ersan Ilyasova missed a 3-pointer for the Bucks, then Johnson grabbed the defensive rebound and missed 2 free throws with 14.1 seconds on the clock.
In the final 10 seconds, Jennings misfired on a long pull-up jumper, Gadzuric couldn't finish the tip and, after the rebound went out of bounds, Gadzuric missed a 17-foot jumper just before the buzzer.
The Bucks (2-3) shot just 36.5 percent. They were led by forward Hakim Warrick with 25 points.
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