Noah's energy ignites 3rd straight win, taking Bobcats 93-90

Just sort of brainstorming out loud after a career performance in the Bulls' 93-90 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Saturday night, center Joakim Noah suggested he might start running a few extra sprints after practice next week.

"Maybe like the next couple of days when D-Rose is doing extra conditioning, maybe I'll do a couple of those wind sprints with him," Noah said. "Maybe do like five or 10 wind sprints after practice and get in a routine of doing stuff like that."

He can't be serious. No one would question Noah's conditioning after watching the third-year center pile up a career-high 21 points, to go with 16 rebounds and 4 blocks against the Bobcats.

It seemed as though anytime the Bulls missed a shot, Noah's right hand was in perfect position to tip the ball into the basket. In addition to his offensive rebounds, Noah also dropped in a baseline hook shot and drained another one of his sideways-spinning foul-line jumpers.

"He's been one of those glue guys," teammate John Salmons said. "One of those guys, once you have him, it's hard to play without him."

Salmons also got himself going Saturday, producing 27 points, 7 rebounds, 6 assists and 3 steals. He started the night averaging 11.2 points and shooting 29.6 percent from the field.

"I was taking it to the rim more instead of settling for jump shots," Salmons said. "It felt good today."

The Bulls (4-2) have won three straight games by a combined total of 6 points. They've made plenty of mistakes down the stretch but have been able to save themselves with defense.

"We're still finding ways to win, and that's a good sign," coach Vinny Del Negro said.

The Bulls trailed 70-61 with 3:43 left in the third quarter, then roared back with a 20-2 run over the next six minutes.

Charlotte (3-3) closed within 83-82 midway through the fourth, but Salmons responded with a big 3-pointer and the Bulls seemed to be in command when Luol Deng's jumper put the home team ahead 92-85 with 2:40 left.

But the Bulls couldn't put the game away at the foul line. Noah and Deng both went 0-for-2 at the line in the final two minutes. When Tyson Chandler knocked down a pair of free throws with 21.3 seconds left, the Bobcats were within 92-90.

On the other end, Salmons hit 1 of 2 at the line to boost the lead to 3, and Charlotte's Flip Murray missed 2 attempts from 3-point range that could have tied the score in the final 10 seconds.

The Bobcats played at home Friday night but took an early lead by running a textbook drive-and-kick offense. They made it work by knocking down 8 of 15 shots from 3-point range in the first half, then were just 4 of 14 after halftime.

The Bulls did a better job of playing at a fast tempo and sprinted to a 19-5 edge in fastbreak points. But they also committed a whopping 21 turnovers. Derrick Rose had 7 and Kirk Hinrich 4.

"If we handled the ball a little bit better and shot our free throws better, we would have had a much better opportunity at the end," Del Negro said.

With Tyrus Thomas out for at least a month with a broken arm, Deng (14 points, 11 rebounds) ended up playing all but 48 seconds of the game. Rookie James Johnson played five shaky minutes in the first half and didn't return.

<p class=factboxtext12col><b>Mike McGraw's game tracker</b></p> <p class=factboxtext12col>Bulls 93, Bobcats 90</p> <p class=factboxtext12col>Two-star system: Guard John Salmons finally had a breakout game with 27 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists, but the most valuable Bull probably was center Joakim Noah, who worked hard under the hoop to pile up a career-high 21 points to go with 16 rebounds.</p> <p class=factboxtext12col>Another late show: The Bulls trailed by 9 late in the third quarter, then roared back with a 20-2 run over the next six minutes. The ending would have been easier if the Bulls hadn't missed 5 straight free throws inside two minutes.</p> <p class=factboxtext12col>A better Bobcat: No need to worry about the competitiveness of this game. The Bobcats, with a veteran lineup and Hall of Fame coach in Larry Brown, should be better than many people expect this season. Charlotte knocked down 12 of 27 shots from 3-point range, but Flip Murray missed twice with a chance to tie in the final 10 seconds.</p>