Nocioni gains confidence in OT win over Clippers
The Bulls were cruising along with a 12-point lead early in the third quarter of Wednesday's home game against the Los Angeles Clippers.
The way it disappeared so quickly, it was as though a villain from the old "Batman" TV show released an invisible mist that engulfed the Bulls players in a lethargic stupor. The Clippers went on a 12-0 run and jumped ahead 82-77 after scoring the first bucket of the fourth quarter.
Fortunately for the Bulls, one player was immune to the mysterious ailment. Andres Nocioni was at his spring-loaded best down the stretch and finished with a season-high 22 points in the overtime victory.
His biggest play probably came on defense. The Clippers had a chance to go up by 6 points when Nocioni raced from behind to block a fast-break layup attempt by backup guard Mike Taylor. In the next three minutes, Nocioni hit a baseline jumper and a pair of 3-pointers to put the Bulls ahead 98-94 with 3:45 left.
"I'm struggling right now with my game, so I need a game like this for my confidence," he said. "I think I need to give a lot of defense for this team. If I play good 'D,' everyone else on the team will play good 'D.' "
In overtime, the 6-7 Nocioni was asked to guard burly power forward Zach Randolph. It didn't always work well, but Nocioni drew a pair of key offensive fouls in overtime. On the second, Randolph spun in the post and elbowed Nocioni in the throat.
"Noc is going to put his face, his body, whatever he can in front of you, and he's going to battle you," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "That's one of his greatest qualities."
Randolph was very upset with the officials late in the game, and teammate Marcus Camby wasn't impressed by the hyperactive defense.
"Everybody knows how he plays and how he flops," Camby said. "He just got the benefit of the call tonight."
Rose on the blocks: Derrick Rose is learning about life among the NBA's tallest trees. He had two drives to the basket blocked by Charlotte's Emeka Okafor late in Tuesday's overtime loss.
Against the Clippers, Rose was rejected twice by Marcus Camby in the second half before putting in a bank shot over Camby while getting fouled from behind with 42.6 seconds left in overtime. Rose's 3-point play stretched a 1-point advantage to 113-109.
"No matter what, I'm going to keep doing it," Rose said after the game. "I've just got to know where (the big guys) are at all the time on the court. On the last play, I saw where I needed to put it and it went in."
Rose is experiencing the first shooting slump of his pro career, hitting just 8 of 33 attempts in the last two games. He banged his left elbow on the court during overtime against the Clippers, but X-rays were negative and Rose thinks he'll be fine.
Thomas to miss time: Tyrus Thomas did not travel with the Bulls to Boston on Thursday after feeling the effects of a concussion during the Clippers game. Thomas was hit in the head during each of the two previous games and began to feel dizzy Wednesday. A CT scan confirmed the diagnosis.
"He's not feeling real good right now either," coach Vinny Del Negro said Wednesday night. "It will be good for him to get some rest, see the doctors and then they'll reexamine him in the next couple of days and see how he feels for Saturday night."
Bull horns: The Bulls canceled practice Thursday, the lone day off during a stretch of four games in five nights. ... Kirk Hinrich had the pin removed from his surgically-repaired right thumb Wednesday, but he still has weeks of rehab in store. ... The Bulls are encouraging fans to donate nonperishable food items at Saturday's game against Utah to benefit the Greater Chicago Food Depository.