Ailing Bulls claw Bobcats; keep NBA best record
By Homer D. Sayson
PhilBoxing.com
Mon, 23 Jan 2012
DERRICK Rose not only missed his fourth consecutive game Saturday night with a bum toe, he was joined in the injured, unable to play list by teammates Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson and John Lucas III, who are all nursing an assortment of aching body parts.
Up against a severely diminished Bulls team, Charlotte Bobcats head coach Paul Silas thought his visting team had a "legitimate shot" of leaving the United Center with a W.
Unfortunately for Silas, the final outcome wasn't what he had hoped for and imagined.
Luol Deng -- again -- came to Chicago's rescue. And with plentiful help from his healthy teammates, the Bulls escaped with a 95-85 victory. The narrow margin allowed the 15-3 Bulls to keep the NBA's best record, just a shade above the 13-3 Oklahoma City Thunder of the West.
Described by coach Tom Thibodeau as the glue that keeps the adversity-stricken Bulls together, the 26-year old Deng, dished another herculean effort with 22 points, 8 rebounds and 4 assists. The 7-year pro out of Duke University shot 9-of-18 from the field and jumpstarted the Bulls to an early lead that they kept throughout.
Silas had nothing but praise for the 6-foot-6, 220-pound Deng.
"He's very experienced, he knows how to play this game. He knows exactly when he has a shot. He knows how to defend. He's a hard worker. His attitude is 'I'm going to be successful every night.' He goes out and does that. He comes up with big threes when they need them. When they rotate the ball around to him he constantly scores. He just kind of breaks your heart," Silas told Sam Smith of Bulls.com.
Gerald Henderson had 22 points for the Bobcats, who made 35 of their 74 field goals, a surprisingly high 47.3 percent accuracy rate against the menacing Bulls defense. But besides getting 17 points from 7-foot center Byron Mullens and 10 from guard Cory Higgins, the Bobcats couldn't manufacture enough points to score an upset.
The Bulls didn't shoot well, making just 40 of 85 field goals. And without Noah, they were outrebounded 44-37. But the Bulls had a ton of assists -- 26 against Charlotte's 18 -- and they got scoring help all around.
Carlos Boozer had 23 points, Rip Hamilton drilled 20, CJ Watson added 11 while journeyman point guard Mike James contributed 9 to go along with his game-high 10 assists.
The Bulls triumph, however, came with a bit of a scare as Deng sprained his left wrist. X-rays were negative and an MRI was scheduled for Sunday. It is unlikely for Deng to miss games, but given how this season of pain has played out for the Bulls, you never know.
After a brief rest day on Sunday night, the Bulls resume their campaign on Monday when they host the New Jersey Nets at the United Center. (HDS)
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Homer D. Sayson.
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