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Scalabrine still a favorite of Bulls fans

What a perfect moment for Brian Scalabrine to get into a game. Fans at the United Center were chanting his name and the Bulls led Golden State by 20-plus points for most of the fourth quarter Wednesday.

The only problem was Scalabrine wore a suit on the bench. He's now an assistant coach for the Warriors, not an end-of-the-bench player.

After the Bulls' 103-83 win over Golden State, Joakim Noah said he enjoyed the Scalabrine chants, which were common at the UC from 2010-12.

"We were just talking about that with Scal before the game," Noah said. "Because he's a redhead that looks kind of nerdy and all that, people think it's a joke. They look at Scal like it's a joke. 'Oh, the 15th guy, Scalabrine, chant his name.'

"But he was one of the hardest-working players I've ever been around and he can really play. So all you guys who think that he's just one of those guys in the NBA, 'Oh, I could beat Scalabrine.' You guys are wrong, man. That guy used to work his butt off. It just shows what kind of presence he has in Chicago. People love him."

Scalabrine actually put that thought to the test a couple years ago, taking on fans that challenged him to play 1-on-1 for a series on Comcast SportsNet New England.

Scalabrine is 6-feet-9, can shoot the lights out from 3-point range and dunk with ease. Obviously, he wiped the floor with every challenger.

Myers makes presence felt:

Brian Scalabrine isn't the only Warriors assistant with Chicago ties. Former Bulls player and longtime assistant Pete Myers is also with the Warriors and actually got a technical foul in the third quarter of Wednesday's game.

Joakim Noah had nice things to say about Myers and the technical foul.

"I loved it. I was happy he made his presence felt in the building," Noah said with a laugh. "Pete Myers, since I got to the league, every time I was down, every time I was going through something, he was kind of like my psychologist. To see him get a tech, it just showed me he definitely was a good psychologist."

There's a third ex-Bull on the Warriors' staff, Lindsey Hunter.

Championship insiders speak:

The Bulls will host a championship "Insiders Session" on Wednesday, Mar. 12 at the Montgomery Club in Chicago. Scottie Pippen, Bill Wennington, Stacey King, Randy Brown and Cliff Levingston will reminisce about the Bulls' glory days. Visit bulls.com/insider for more information. Proceeds will go to Bulls Charities.

The Bulls' Joakim Noah muscles up a shot over the Warriors' Andrew Bogut on Wednesday at the United Center. Associated Press
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