Bulls Continue Strong Play, Beat Bobcats

[January 03, 2008]  CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Ben Gordon scored 22 points, Luol Deng added 21 points and 13 rebounds and the Chicago Bulls continued their strong play under interim coach Jim Boylan with a 109-97 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Wednesday night.  [Caption: Chicago Bulls head coach Jim Boylan, center, directs his team during a timeout in the first half against the Charlotte Bobcats in an NBA basketball game in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)]

The Bulls, who improved to 3-1 under Boylan, rallied from a 12-point third-quarter deficit when Boylan tweaked his rotation to take advantage of Charlotte's small lineup.

Rookie Joakim Noah capitalized on Charlotte's soft interior by adding a career-high 17 points and six rebounds while playing the entire fourth quarter to present matchup problems. Joe Smith scored 16 points and keyed the Bulls' third-quarter comeback as Chicago scored 48 points in the paint.

Boylan, the former Bulls assistant who took over from the fired Scott Skiles, has found success with Gordon now coming off the bench and with using a big lineup to wipe off a sluggish start.

Jason Richardson scored 28 points and Gerald Wallace added 23 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists for the Bobcats, who couldn't build off Monday's comeback win over Indiana.

With Richardson and Wallace combining for 26 first-half points, Charlotte built an 11-point lead on Derek Anderson's two free throws with four seconds left.

Gordon's 30-footer at the buzzer cut the deficit to 57-49 at halftime, but the Bobcats quickly built a 12-point lead on Wallace's 3-pointer early in the third quarter.

That's when Boylan started to take advantage of Bobcats coach Sam Vincent's small lineup that includes guards Jeff McInnis, Raymond Felton and Richardson.

That forces Wallace to play power forward, and the 6-foot-10 Smith towered over him in the post. Smith promptly scored eight points in a 22-8 run to put Chicago back ahead.

Then it was Ben Wallace's turn to dominate Charlotte inside. His two one-handed dunks put the Bulls ahead 85-79 with 9:58 left. Andres Nocioni's 3 made it 92-82 with 7:42 to go.

Charlotte got to 94-89, but Gordon hit another 3 and Ben Wallace scored easily in the post when he somehow got matched up with Richardson, making it 101-90 with 3:16 left.

The Bulls, who improved to 3-0 against Charlotte and recovered from an overtime loss to Orlando on Monday, held a 50-40 rebounding advantage.

Charlotte's Emeka Okafor was held to nine points and eight rebounds on 4-of-11 shooting.

Notes: Don't look for the Bulls' key players to see their heavy minutes diminish anytime soon under Boylan, who decided it was necessary due to the team's poor start. "Our season is starting to slip away a little bit," Boylan said. "We need our main guys to come through." ... Boylan said he's been focusing on offense more in practice since taking over, convinced his team's defense is solid. ... With Vincent going to a smaller lineup, C Nazr Mohammed played only 21 minutes, finishing with eight points and three rebounds. ... Bobcats F Othella Harrington (knee) missed his eighth straight game.

[Associated Press; By MIKE CRANSTON]

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