It's just one game, but Noah, Thomas come up big

Meet the new Bulls, perhaps not quite the same as the old Bulls.

Yeah, shocking as it is to think it, Joakim Noah and Tyrus Thomas - the poster children for underachieving NBA forwards - actually looked like basketball players for extended periods Thursday night at the UC.

We'll not exaggerate the meaning of one game against the aging Spurs - who played in San Antonio on Wednesday night - but Noah and Thomas both performed as though they had a clue in the Bulls' 92-85 opening-night victory.

Consider that when last we saw them, Noah was both worthless and weak, and Thomas was just worthless.

But the Bulls won Thursday night, not in spite of them, but - take a deep breath - because of them.

The 6-foot-11 Noah had 10 points and 10 rebounds, including 6 big ones on the offensive glass, and 4 in the second quarter to go with 2 blocks.

Thomas had a Thomas-like first half in which he was a 6-10 invisible man, but he had a huge third quarter with 10 points, 3 boards and 3 blocks as the Bulls extended a 1-point halftime lead to 10.

Thomas finished with 13 points and 6 rebounds and combined with Noah to nearly match the brilliant play of Tim Duncan, who went 28 and 17.

"This game gives us confidence, but we're not going to get too excited or too high,'' Noah said. "We have a tough opponent tomorrow (in Boston). We'll celebrate on the plane, but then we'll get ready for the next one.''

With Ben Gordon gone, and not forgotten after he poured in 22 for Detroit in the Pistons' season-opening win, the Bulls knew someone would have to replace Gordon's fourth-quarter offense this season.

But it was never a factor Thursday because the Bulls essentially put away the Spurs in the third, after a first half in which the Bulls manhandled a veteran team on the offensive glass (10-1), beating San Antonio 19-0 in second-chance points.

Without Gordon, it actually was a very balanced Bulls attack that saw six players hit double figures, led by Luol Deng's 17, and a half-dozen players had at least a half-dozen boards - including 3 offensive rebounds for rookie Taj Gibson in only 15 minutes.

But Noah and Thomas won the game by dominating the second and third quarters, respectively, surprising everyone in the building.

"I thought Tyrus gave us a big boost in the third with his activity,'' said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. "He ran the floor really well and he was very active on the glass.''

There were times Thomas was still Thomas, hopelessly out of control, and moments when Noah was still Noah, missing a windmill dunk off the rim when a layup would have counted just as much.

And there remains the open question of who will be the inside presence to play catch with Derrick Rose.

"It's early and we need to get better in a lot of areas,'' Del Negro said. "But I'm happy we won. I'm happy about the way we rebounded the ball and controlled the tempo.''

It's one game, and, yes, we remain highly skeptical.

But credit where it's due, Noah and Thomas are the ones who controlled the tempo and played like NBA big men Thursday night against real NBA big men.

Is it possible the kids have grown up?

Maybe.

It's even possible to dream that the kids can play.

At your own risk, of course.

brozner@dailyherald.com