Noah still providing spark for Chicago Bulls
Even though he has moved to a reserve role and been on the floor less than 50 percent of the time this season, an argument could be made that Joakim Noah is still the player who drives the Chicago Bulls.
Plenty of evidence was on display Monday night, when Noah looked like his old self, flirting with a triple-double and leading the Bulls past San Antonio 92-89 at the United Center.
The Spurs (14-4) started the night on a five-game winning streak and own the NBA's second-best record, trailing only undefeated Golden State.
Noah finished with 8 points, 7 assists and 11 rebounds in 23 minutes of action. Noah and a lineup of reserves turned the game around by starting the fourth quarter with a 15-7 run.
"Jo was huge. Looking for his shot, making great moves," teammate Derrick Rose said. "His energy was there rebounding the ball, pushing the ball, making the right passes. It was great."
Noah has been quick to come to Rose's defense during these last few injury-plagued seasons. This year, Noah has been struggling with his new role coming off the bench. Heading into Monday's action, he was averaging a career-low 2.7 points and shooting 32 percent from the field.
During the fourth-quarter run, Noah scored twice on crossover drives to the basket, something not often seen from a 6-foot-11 center.
"Jo's like a brother to me, man," Rose said. "He's one of the hardest workers, I think, in the league. Usually players go home after shootarounds. He'll stay there 'til like 2:00 just working on his game.
"It just shows his dedication. It shows the younger players how hard you have to work, the work ethic you need to stay in this league this long. He played great tonight, so if anything this can help his confidence."
For the most part, the Bulls (10-5) did a nice job of correcting the mistakes in Friday's loss to Indiana. They moved the ball well, worked it inside at times and played with a better pace. Another plus was a few key players coming back to life.
Besides Noah, the small forward tandem stepped forward. Tony Snell last scored in double figures on Nov. 9 at Philadelphia, McDermott last did it Nov. 16 against Indiana. Against the Spurs, McDermott scored 12 points and Snell had 11.
"It was one of those nights when everybody on the floor, not only contributed but contributed in a big way," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "Everybody that was out there made key plays."
The Bulls faced a familiar scenario in the fourth quarter with the offense hitting a wall down the stretch. Taj Gibson finished the 15-7 run with a putback basket, giving the Bulls an 85-80 edge with 6:30 remaining. That turned out to be the Bulls' last field goal, but 7 free throws down the stretch was enough to pull out the win.
San Antonio tied it at 89-89 on a Tim Duncan lane flip with 2:01 left. The teams exchanged a pair of empty possessions before Pau Gasol (18 points, 13 rebounds) drew a foul and made 1 of 2 free throws to put the Bulls ahead with 51.2 seconds on the clock.
After Manu Ginóbili missed a jumper, Jimmy Butler attacked the basket and drew a foul, hitting both shots to put the Bulls up by 3 with 10.6 seconds remaining.
The Spurs got up 2 shots to try to tie the score, but Kawhi Leonard (25 points) missed a 3-pointer against a good contest by Butler, then after an offensive rebound Rose ran out to deflect Tony Parker's corner 3-pointer as time expired.
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