November 5th, 2005
Chicago (123) at New Jersey (122)
Bulls escape with one point victory
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Boxscore ]
Ben Gordon got the Bulls off to a fine start and led the charge in an impressive finish. The second year guard was held scoreless through the second and third quarters after scoring 10 points in the first quarter but erupted for 19 fourth quarter points as Chicago squeezed out a one point victory over the Nets in New Jersey after trailing by as many as 11 in the third.
Chicago appeared to have the upper hand after the first period, having erased a six point deficit to lead by two after Mike Sweetney made a layup as time expired. But New Jersey had other plans, with their big three of Vince Carter, Jason Kidd and Richard Jefferson abusing the Bulls' defense with swooping dunks, tough jumpers and cold blooded threes. Chicago were back on their heels as New Jersey rode an eight point lead into halftime.
The Bulls were dealt an early blow when starting forward Shawn Kemp went down with what would turn out to be a jammed thumb. Kemp would later return to score 16 points and grab 8 boards but reinjured his thumb and took a seat during the final minutes. Nocioni however scored 16 points and collected 8 rebounds of his own, playing most of the game at power forward.
Behind Gordon's impressive fourth quarter, in which he shot 8/11 from the field (2/3 from downtown) grabbed 4 rebounds and handed out 3 assists, the Bulls appeared to have the game in the bag when they took a 117-109 lead on a Gordon three. But New Jersey had other ideas, as Kidd, Carter and Jefferson each hit a three to tie the game at 117.
Nocioni hit a pair of free throws to put Chicago up 119-117 but on the next trip down the floor veteran big man Cliff Robinson drilled a long three from the right wing to give the Nets a 120-119 advantage. The Nets were slow to get back on defense and Chicago took advantage, with Hinrich rushing the ball upcourt and feeding Nocioni for a dunk with 33 seconds left in the game.
With no timeouts left, the Nets quickly made their way into the frontcourt and setup a play for Carter. His shot missed but Robinson collected the rebound and made a layup with 14 seconds left, putting the Nets up 122-121. Chicago used its last timeout to advance the ball. Hinrich took the inbound pass and found Nocioni down low, who was hacked on his layup attempt. His two free throws gave Chicago a 123-122 lead and left New Jersey with 12 seconds and no timeouts.
The Nets got the ball upcourt in a hurry but were unable to find Vince Carter for a final shot. The ball ended up in the hands of Nenad Krstic, who forced a long two with only a couple of seconds left. Nocioni grabbed the rebound and time expired, allowing Chicago to walk out the victors as the Continental Airlines Arena crowd sat in stunned silence.
Reignman injured in Bulls victory
CHICAGO, IL -- Bulls starting forward Shawn Kemp injured his thumb during the their 123-122 victory over the New Jersey Nets last night. Kemp jammed his thumb attempting to block a shot by Richard Jefferson in the first quarter and took an early seat. He returned to action and scored 16 points and grabbed 8 rebounds before reaggravating the injury in a collision with Nenad Krstic.
X-rays were negative but Kemp is reportedly still suffering from soreness in his thumb. The injury has not been deemed serious and Kemp will likely play through it, though he is listed as day-to-day and may see reduced minutes off the bench until his thumb has completely healed.
Coach's Diary
November 5th - Phew!
When Cliff hit that three pointer then scored off the offensive rebound...well, I couldn't believe we let them back in the game. When Ben hit that three to put us up 117-109, I thought we had put them away for good. Kudos to the Nets for refusing to quit and storming right back, though that's obviously a big concern for us. We can't let that keep happening. Noce was the hero again, hitting those big free throws, but lost in the shuffle was Wes who scored 13 in the third quarter to close the gap while we were struggling. Wes is shooting an amazing 59% from the floor and 53% from downtown, averaging 12.3 ppg. He's been great for us the last couple of games.
Ben's fourth quarter was simply amazing. He didn't let the second and third quarters bother him in the slightest. He began the period the way he began the game, hitting jumpers after beating the likes of Vince, Jason and RJ off the dribble. I can't believe his numbers in the fourth. 19 points, 8/11 shooting, 2/3 from downtown, 4 rebounds, 3 assists. There are players in this league that would be praised for having a game like that. And he managed it in a single quarter. I think he's going to handle the pressure of being out first option just fine.
Shawn's injury has come at a bad time though. We'll need him against the Spurs because we'll need every big man we've got to throw at Tim Duncan. We'll have our hands full with Ginobili as it is. Even though I feel our backcourt is a little underrated defensively we are small and I know Manu will be looking to exploit that.
Still, the last couple of wins have done wonders for our confidence. We could have thrown the Nets game away but we held on and rose to every challenge. No one expected us to win the Wizards game but we did. San Antonio are the defending champions but we can't allow ourselves to be in awe of them. We know how good they are and respect what they've accomplished. But we can't let that rule our mindset. We're not in this league to back down from challenges.
Transactions
Phoenix signs G Eddie Basden to a 1 year minimum contract
Chicago places G Jannero Pargo on the Inactive List and activated G/F Eric Piatkowski