Chicago Bulls Blog – Page 41 – NBA Blog

Carlos Boozer steps up, Bulls beat Nets to take 2-1 lead

Every play near the basket looked like a traffic accident. There were long scoreless stretches. Shooting from outside was a dicey proposition.

It was ugly for everyone but the Chicago Bulls. This was their type of game.

Carlos Boozer had 22 points and 16 rebounds, Luol Deng added 21 points and 10 boards, and the Bulls held off the Brooklyn Nets 79-76 in Game 3 of their first-round playoff series Thursday night.

”We did what we had to do to win the game,” Boozer said. ”In the playoffs you have to win different ways. Nothing is perfect.”

Chicago had no field goals and two foul shots over the final 5:46 of its second straight win in the series. It will try for a 3-1 lead when the banged-up teams return to the court Saturday afternoon in a quick turnaround.

Brooklyn shot 35 percent for the second straight game. Brook Lopez had 22 points, nine rebounds and seven blocked shots, and Deron Williams finished with 18 points on 5-for-14 shooting…

Joe Johnson got a cortisone shot for his ailing left foot and finished 15 points for Brooklyn, while Noah’s foul shot was his only point of the game while dealing with his own painful right foot injury. Noah also had eight rebounds, two assists and two blocks…

Brooklyn went 5 for 21 from 3-point range and is 15 for 56 from beyond the arc for the series.

— Reported by Jay Cohen of the Associated Press

Nate Robinson discusses unfriendly relationship with C.J. Watson

Chicago Bulls guard Nate Robinson doesn’t hide his dislike for the Brooklyn Nets’ C.J. Watson. In fact, Robinson views it as a positive.

“We’re just competitors,” Robinson said Monday after helping the Bulls even their Eastern Conference quarterfinals at a game apiece. “I don’t like him, he don’t like me. That’s how it’s going to be. There’s animosity between the two of us, and for us, that’s good.”

The cause of the animosity isn’t certain. Robinson essentially filled Watson’s role on the Bulls, who waived Watson last offseason and then signed Robinson to a non-guaranteed contract.

— Reported by ESPN Chicago

Joakim Noah continues to battle foot problems

The Nets are bringing postseason basketball to Brooklyn, and Joakim Noah might have to miss the party.

Noah, who grew up in New York, is battling foot problems and might be sidelined when the series opens Saturday, leaving the Chicago Bulls without their top option to defend Nets All-Star center Brook Lopez.

”It’s really hard, it’s really hard,” Noah said Friday. ”All the work you put in is to play in this situation. This is probably one of the hardest things I’ve had to deal with in my career right now. Going back home and playing in these playoff games means the world to me. Not being able to be ready for that is hard. I’m going to try and do everything I can to help the team.”

Noah’s absence could make a huge difference in what shapes up as a competitive series between the Nos. 4 and 5 seeds in the Eastern Conference. Chicago won three of the four meetings during the regular season, but only one game was decided by more than four points.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Bulls playoff opponent still undecided

By beating Orlando on Monday, the Bulls ensured their first-round playoff opponent will remain a mystery until Wednesday night.

The Bulls are a half-game behind Atlanta for fifth place in the Eastern Conference, but won the season series 2-1 and therefore own the tiebreaker against the Hawks.

Atlanta hosts Toronto on Tuesday night. As the Bulls discovered twice last week, the Raptors seem intent on finishing the season strong, so a Hawks win may not be a foregone conclusion.

An Atlanta loss to Toronto would put the Bulls in the driver’s seat. They could claim the No. 5 spot by beating Washington, regardless of what the Hawks do in their final game at New York on Wednesday.

— Reported by Mike McGraw of the Arlington Heights Daily Herald (Blog)

Heat win rugged game against Bulls, 105-93

Carlos Boozer turned his shoulder and knocked Dwyane Wade to the floor, while Nate Robinson shoved LeBron James as the NBA’s reigning MVP leaped near the basket.

All in the same sequence, no less.

It was physical, rugged and exactly what the Miami Heat needed as part of their preparations for the playoffs, which start this coming weekend. James scored 24 points, Wade finished with 22 and the Heat set a franchise record for home wins in a season by topping the Chicago Bulls 105-93 on Sunday.

”It was good, especially against this team,” said James, who had seven rebounds and six assists. ”You’re definitely not just going to show up and win against these guys. You’re going to have to work for it. So for us, to continue to get better and for us to have a really physical game, good game, testy game, we liked it.”

Chicago had more fouls (30) than field goals (29), the first time the Bulls have managed that in a regular-season game since Nov. 19, 2008.

The Bulls sent Miami to the line a season-high 41 times, and at times were so reliant on the 3-point shot that they went more than 16 minutes to open the second half without a single 2-point basket.

”We’re trying to get ready,” Heat coach Erik Spoelstra said. ”And you play a team that’s physical like this, it gets you ready.”

— Reported by Tim Reynolds of the Associated Press

Joakim Noah trying to deal with plantar fasciitis

Add cortisone shot to the list of treatments Joakim Noah has attempted to quell his nagging plantar fasciitis.

The Bulls’ center, who also has tried platelet rich plasma injections, sleeping in a splint and — three seasons ago — shock wave therapy, received the shot Monday night in an attempt to salvage regular-season action. Twice in the last three days, Noah has said he is resigned he will have to play through the painful condition the remainder of the season.

“It’s not great,” Noah said. “It’s frustrating. I felt pretty good to try it on Sunday (against the Pistons) but it swelled up on me pretty bad. But I’m confident I’ll be out there when it gets hot.”

That’s a nod to the playoffs. The reason Noah, who sat for the ninth time in 10 games on Tuesday, wants to play before then is to develop game shape and rhythm. But he admitted he barely can walk some mornings when he awakens.

— Reported by K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune

Rip Hamilton returns to action for the Bulls

It’s been awhile since the Bulls have received any good news on the injury front. But that’s exactly what presented itself on Tuesday evening when coach Tom Thibodeau announced that shooting guard Richard Hamilton would return to action against the Toronto Raptors.

“We’re going to play him tonight,” Thibodeau declared of Hamilton, who came off the bench. “He’s going to have a chance to play some minutes, not a lot. He’s come along and he’s feeling better. We’ll see where he is. It’s one thing to be able to do it in practice; it’s another to be able to do it in a game. Of course we’ll have to see how he responds tomorrow after the game. We’re glad that he’s back.”

Hamilton has not played since Chicago’s 101-98 loss to Cleveland at the United Center on Feb. 26, missing 19 games due to a sore lower back.

— Reported by Adam Fluck of Bulls.com Blog

Bulls sign Malcolm Thomas for rest of season

The Chicago Bulls today signed forward Malcolm Thomas for the remainder of the season. He originally signed a 10-day contract with the Bulls on March 19, followed by a subsequent 10-day contract on March 29.

Thomas (6-9, 225) has appeared in two games with the Bulls and averaged 2.0 ppg in 1.0 mpg. He also recorded three points and five rebounds in five games with the Golden State Warriors earlier this season.

With big game from Carlos Boozer, Bulls rally to beat Nets 92-90

Down five key players. Down 16 points. A lot for any team to overcome.

These Chicago Bulls are used to it.

”We fight to the end,” forward Carlos Boozer said. ”We’ve got some resilient guys in here.”

Boozer had 29 points and 18 rebounds, Nate Robinson made the go-ahead basket with 22 seconds left, and the Bulls rallied to beat the Brooklyn Nets 92-90 on Thursday night in a potential preview of a first-round playoff series.

Jimmy Butler had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Luol Deng scored 18 points, and Robinson finished with 12 as the Bulls shook off the absences of the injured players to keep Indiana from clinching the Central Division title they’ve won the last two years.

Chicago pulled into a tie for fifth place with Atlanta and climbed within 1 1/2 games of the Nets for the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round.

And the Bulls did it without Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Richard Hamilton and Marco Belinelli, all starters or key members of their rotation. Plus, they lost starting point guard Kirk Hinrich to fouls with 3:38 remaining…

Deron Williams had 30 points and 10 assists for the Nets, who had a disappointing return home from an eight-game road trip. Brook Lopez finished with 28 points, but he had a turnover and two misses in the final minute, including a corner jumper that went in and out that would have forced overtime.

— Reported by Brian Mahoney of the Associated Press

Doug Collins attends intro of son Chris Collins as Northwestern coach

Even when Chris Collins was a ball boy at long-gone Chicago Stadium, wiping up the sweat of Michael Jordan, his father, who was the Bulls coach at the time, sensed that coaching was in his future. That belief became a reality on Tuesday.

“I know that sounds crazy, but I’ve always felt Chris had that about him,” 76ers coach Doug Collins said.

With the elder Collins watching in the front row with his arm draped around his granddaughter Kate, Chris Collins was introduced as the new men’s basketball coach at Northwestern, a program seeking its first NCAA tournament bid. He comes to Northwestern after 13 seasons on the staff at Duke, under Mike Krzyzewski.

Doug Collins gave his team the day off even though the Sixers are playing Wednesday night at Charlotte. “I had to be here and support him and let him know how proud I am of him,” he said.

— Reported by Daniel I. Dorfman of the Philadelphia Inquirer