McGraw: Noah, Gasol tough it out in Bulls' win
Coming off a grueling double-overtime loss to Dallas the previous night, the last thing the Bulls needed to see was Joakim Noah lying on the court, screaming in pain after another twisted right ankle.
That happened early in Wednesday night's game at Charlotte, but Noah stayed on the floor for a few minutes, then limped into the locker room to get the ankle retaped. He ended up playing 32 minutes and produced a nice stat line: 14 points, 10 rebounds, 7 assists.
Pau Gasol turned in another strong performance after playing 50 minutes against the Mavs. And Kirk Hinrich made up for his self-described "bonehead play" by draining a couple of clutch 3-pointers as the Bulls defeated the Hornets 102-95 at Time Warner Cable Arena.
"I love the toughness of our guys to bounce back," coach Tom Thibodeau told reporters after the game. "This has been challenging - you come off the road, 15-day trip, have one home game and have to turn around the next night, back to back."
Thibodeau had plenty of praise for Gasol, who posted his fifth straight double-double with 19 points and 15 rebounds.
"I love Pau. You can't say enough about him," Thibodeau said. "He makes big play after big play. He's been knocked in the past. Pau has great toughness, and that's what I love about him. The mental toughness is what's huge for our team.
"After last night, if you read his comments, saw what he said, he said the same thing to the team: "Hey, you have to be ready every night in this league. Playing through fatigue and soreness is part of it.'
"That's what a championship player does. That's what this league is about. You've got to have the toughness to battle through things. It's not easy."
Gasol has played longer minutes lately because of the ankle injury to Taj Gibson - who missed his sixth straight game Wednesday - along with various dings and foul trouble by Noah.
"These types of games really make a big difference at the end of the season with your record," Gasol said. "It's a game where if you come in with low energy and try to cruise through it, you walk out with a loss. So this was a game that builds character and shows what you're made of."
The Bulls (12-7) led most of the way but needed some clutch 3-point shooting to finish off the win. They went 12-for-28 from 3-point range overall. Four different players had at least 2: Hinrich, Mike Dunleavy, Nikola Mirotic and Derrick Rose.
Hinrich knocked down a pair of 3-pointers in the fourth quarter. Against Dallas, he fouled Monta Ellis with 1.2 seconds left in regulation, allowing the Mavs to tie the score with 3 free throws.
"I've realized with my time in this league you have to move on because you're going to make mistakes," Hinrich said. "The hardest thing is when the game is over and you feel like you let your teammates down. But I have great teammates, and everyone has been trying to pick me up."
Mirotic had another nice performance filling in for Gibson, with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Rose and Jimmy Butler scored 15 points, while Hinrich scored 12.
Bulls legend Michael Jordan watched the game from the end of the Charlotte bench but couldn't prevent the Hornets from losing their 10th straight game.
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