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 There were moments during his college career at Purdue that
rivaled his game-winning shot to lift the Chicago Bulls past the
Oklahoma City Thunder 108-105 Thursday night at the United Center.
There were even more in high school that he won with clutch shots as
a senior at nearby East Chicago Central, just a 20-minute drive away
in Northwest Indiana.
Nothing in his three-year NBA career comes close to what the guard
did for the injury-depleted Bulls (39-23) this time. Moore, who
averages 7.3 minutes a game, overshadowed Thunder star Russell
Westbrook's game-high 43 points by drilling a 3-pointer from the
wing to put the Bulls up 107-105 with 2.1 seconds left in the fourth
quarter.
"It's just a natural instinct," said Moore, who set a career high
with 19 points off the bench. "I mean, I've been playing basketball
for a long time. It's not brand new to me. I'm always ready."
 The Bulls (39-23) know that going forward now, and they could use
another scoring option with starting guards Derrick Rose and Jimmy
Butler out of the lineup for extended time along with forward Taj
Gibson. Moore finished the night 9-for-10 on field-goal attempts.
Oklahoma City (34-28) played without second-leading scorer Kevin
Durant, but the Thunder still had more established players healthy.
"The way E'Twaun competed on every play, that goes a long way,"
Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said. "I thought we had a number of guys
who stepped up. You don't replace Derrick, Jimmy and Taj
individually. We have to do it collectively."
That is exactly how the Bulls got it done the past two games to beat
the Washington Wizards and the Thunder. Along with Moore's
contributions, the Bulls were led in scoring by rookie reserve
forward Nikola Mirotic's 26 points. Forwards Mike Dunleavy and Pau
Gasol scored 21 points apiece for Chicago, and Gasol grabbed 12
rebounds for his NBA-leading 40th double-double.
The balanced attack helped snap the Thunder's two-game winning
streak. Oklahoma City, which led most of the game, built a 16-point
advantage early in the second quarter, but the Bulls charged back
with a 16-4 run and cut it to 50-48 at the half on Gasol's put-back
of his own shot at the buzzer.
Westbrook had huge third quarter to put the Thunder up 79-72
starting the fourth. He scored 19 of his team's 29 points in the
third and started to bid for a fifth straight triple-double.
Instead, he finished two rebounds and three assists shy while
watching the Bulls claw their way back.
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Chicago used an 8-0 run to pull within 100-99 with 2:16 left and
caught a couple big breaks on mistakes by Westbrook in the final
minute. The first was a jumper that fell short of the rim with 4.9
seconds left, allowing the shot clock to run out and negating a
put-back by center Enes Kanter. It gave the ball back to Chicago for
Moore's heroics.
After a timeout, Gasol got the ball down low and immediately sent it
to Moore when the defense collapsed.
"He just read the play, and I just knocked down the shot," said
Moore, who scored 13 points in the fourth. "It was a touch pass
because he just read it. That's what smart players do, and he
trusted me to knock down the shot."
Westbrook then stepped out of bounds on Oklahoma City's final
possession to seal just the third loss in 15 games for the Thunder,
who got 25 points from forward Serge Ibaka and 10 from reserve guard
D.J. Augustin.
"We got some shots we wanted (in the fourth), but we weren't able to
knock them down," said Westbrook, who is averaging 38.2 points, 12.4
rebounds and 9.8 points in his past five games. "They made some big
shots and got to the (free-throw line), and put themselves in
position to win the game."
NOTES: Craig Sager, the sideline broadcaster known for loud suits
and witty banter with coaches and players, worked the game for TNT.
It was his first game since being diagnosed with acute myeloid
leukemia in April 2014. ... Thunder C Steven Adams (right hand
fracture) did not play. ... Oklahoma City F Kevin Durant (25.4 ppg)
missed his eighth consecutive game with soreness in his right foot.
... Thunder reserve G Steve Novak (appendectomy) missed his sixth
straight game. ... The Bulls played without starting PG Derrick Rose
(meniscus surgery), starting SG Jimmy Butler (left elbow sprain) and
top reserve PF Taj Gibson (left ankle sprain).
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