Chicago Bulls bring the energy to offense
There were plenty of key points in the Chicago Bulls' 98-94 victory over New Orleans on Saturday night at the United Center.
But the game might be best summed up simply by the enthusiasm in Fred Hoiberg's voice during his postgame news conference. His vision for the Bulls' offense finally came to fruition in a fourth quarter, as Aaron Brooks led the way for a 34-24 advantage in the final 12 minutes.
"That second group - movement, pace - that's how we want to play," Hoiberg said. "They were having fun out there. It was such a grind out, ugly, slow motion-type game coming out of the gate, and finally we got a little energy injected out there.
"It was fun to watch. It was fun to sit there and see it as opposed to coming down and moseying into our offense."
Hoiberg didn't just save his enthusiasm for the media room. The first-year coach surprised forward Doug McDermott with his energy.
"After the game, he came in (the locker room) clapping, all fired up," McDermott said. "After Kirk (Hinrich) hit that 3 in the corner with our second unit, you could tell he was fired up. It was something not a lot of us have seen, so it was pretty cool."
Hoiberg has been shuffling the lineup for weeks, trying to find the right mix of players to bring his style of play to life. In the last two games, the answer came off the bench with Brooks and center Joakim Noah.
Brooks scored 15 of his 17 points in the fourth quarter Saturday and broke a 94-94 tie by hitting one of his patented driving bank shots with 40.3 seconds left.
Noah brought the building to life by playing his typical high-energy game. This one came with a twist, though. Early in the fourth quarter, Noah put a move on Anthony Davis, drove through an open lane and tossed down a one-handed dunk. Noah finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocks in 30 minutes of action.
"I thought he was going to run into the crowd and start chest-bumping people," Hoiberg said of Noah's dunk. "That's what you need when you're going through the type of game that we had. You need a guy to pick up the overall energy of the team. He was coming over to the bench; he was yelling and screaming and foaming at the mouth. It was awesome."
The Pelicans (6-17) were short-handed and playing the second leg of a back-to-back, but the Bulls (13-8) figure playing the right way must be a good start to something.
"We'll watch the first and fourth (quarters) with our team tomorrow and try to show the difference," Hoiberg said. "This is what happens when we play the right way and we share the ball and we move."
Derrick Rose went with a completely different look Saturday. Not only did he play a full game without the protective face mask he'd worn all season until the second half of Thursday's victory over the Los Angeles Clippers, he also cut his hair.
Rose had a quiet game, with 9 points and 3 assists, but he hit the clinching basket, a 17-foot jumper over Davis that gave the Bulls a 4-point lead with 11.5 seconds left.
Through three quarters, the Bulls were shooting just 34.5 percent from the field and trailed 70-64. A little long-range shooting turned things around, though. The Bulls opened the fourth by launching 3-pointers on their first four possessions. They made 3 - 2 by Brooks and 1 from Hinrich - to grab a 73-70 lead.
New Orleans came back to take the lead several times, including a fastbreak layup by Eric Gordon that made it 91-89 with 2:59 remaining.
• Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.