Been waiting a couple of days to post this now...
November 29th, 2005
Orlando (96) at Chicago (126)
Bulls celebrate return to Chicago with impressive victory
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Boxscore ]
Returning to play on their home floor seems to have worked for the struggling Bulls, who last week lost to the Houston Rockets in the final seconds. Against the Magic, the Bulls looked determined to prevent another losing streak with tough defense and sharp execution at the offensive end. Chicago kept up the pace throughout and withstood a third quarter run to capture the win in their largest margin of victory, 126-96.
Playing without Tyson Chandler, the Bulls got a scare when Andres Nocioni, making his first start of the season, was forced to leave the game in the third quarter holding his elbow. Nocioni however would return in the fourth and did not appear to show any ill effects from the earlier collision. He combined with Shawn Kemp to score 37 points and grab 12 rebounds in an impressive showing for the frontcourt duo. Mike Sweetney also scored 11 points and snared 6 boards playing more minutes in Chandler's absence.
Steve Francis, Dwight Howard and Grant Hill all scored more than 20 points and behind Hill's 10 third quarter points, the Magic seemed to be in position to make an unthinkable comeback heading into the fourth. The Bulls had led by as many as 24 points during the first three quarters, but Orlando managed to whittle the lead down to 12 halfway through the fourth. Chicago was not about to give in though and pulled ahead as Ben Gordon scored 19 of his 40 points in the final period. He also handed out 10 assists, his second straight game with more than 35 points and 10 or more assists. Kirk Hinrich led Chicago with 12 assists to go along with 10 points.
Coach's Diary
November 29th - The dream game
Tonight was the kind of win we needed, our first blowout victory of the year. I was much, much happier with our defense tonight. Francis scored 23 but we made him work for it. Hill and Howard had an easier time but I still feel we did a tremendous job limiting the rest of the Magic. I was very pleased with our offense as well. We had trouble in spots but Orlando were determined not to be embarrassed. It did feel like it might be a close one but then came that last explosion. When Ben started nailing those threes, you could tell it took the wind right out of their sails. They stopped attacking and started going through the motions.
Even though Ben was at the front again, I was pleased to see our other guys playing so well. Shawn and Noce were big for us. Mike I thought played great in the 22 minutes he was on the floor. Wes very quietly found his way into double figures with perfect shooting and I liked what Darius did in the few minutes he was on the floor.
The important thing now is to keep this up. We're now 5-8 and looking better than we have done but we're yet to win two in a row. Tomorrow we play the Knicks in New York but if we play like we did tonight I think we might just break that trend.
November 30th, 2005
Nocioni shaken up but won't miss time
CHICAGO, IL -- For a moment it looked like the Bulls would lose another key player last night when Andres Nocioni left the game during the third quarter holding his left elbow after a hard fall in a collision with Steve Francis. The second year forward would return in the fourth quarter however and did not appear to be in any pain as he finished with 18 points and 6 rebounds in the Bulls' 126-96 rout of the Orlando Magic. He is not expected to miss any time and will be available when the Bulls take on the Knicks tonight in New York.
Nocioni is averaging 12.3 ppg and 7.5 rpg in 13 games for Chicago this season. He was signed as a rookie free agent in the Summer of 2004 after teaming with the Spurs' Manu Ginobili to capture gold for Argentina at the Athens Olympics.
November 30th, 2005
Chicago (130) at New York (114)
Bulls make it two in a row
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Ben Gordon scored 34 points, including 24 in the third quarter as Chicago pummeled the Knicks to win two straight for the first time this season. In the first quarter it looked as though Chicago would mimic their performance against the Orlando Magic a night earlier but the Knicks were not ready to concede defeat to early. Led by Quentin Richardson's 17 first half points, New York burned Chicago in the second outscoring them 35-23 despite Stephon Marbury sitting out due to early foul trouble.
Jamal Crawford caught fire during the third, scorching the Bulls from the perimeter and on quick forays to the hoop. Chicago struggled at times but did not look panicked. Gordon, who has been developing a reputation for late game heroics since being drafted by Chicago in 2004 and fresh off a 19 point fourth quarter against the Magic, led a 39 point third quarter for the Bulls with 24 as they charged back and took the lead by the end of the period.
Obviously mindful of the run Orlando made at the beginning of the fourth, the Bulls entered the final quarter full of energy, aggressively pressing and making it difficult for the Knicks to even cross midcourt, once forcing Marbury to step out of bounds during the first couple of minutes. Luol Deng, who had been struggling the last two weeks, scored at will finishing with 19 points in his first game as a reserve this season. Crawford would finish with 31 points but the game had been decided by the six minute mark. With three minutes remaining the Bulls cleared their bench, cruising to an easy 130-114 victory.
Coach's Diary
November 30th - On the right track?
It wasn't as dominant as the last game, but we performed well when we needed to and ended up with another easy victory. I was amazed how little energy the Knicks had in that final quarter. I guess they ran out of steam by the end of the third, when we started to take over again. They were pounding us for a while there, even if the deficit wasn't too bad most of the time. Our defense wasn't as good in this one but our offense more than made up for it. I can live with that. I'd rather see our D get much better but so long as we can simply outscore our opponents that will work for the meantime.
Luol played a fine game off the bench, leaving me wondering whether he's coming out of his slump and should be back in the starting lineup soon, or whether he'll be more effective off the bench. Mike responded very well to getting the starting nod so I'm not sure I'll make a change just yet. Noce was again huge with 19 and 6. He's doing well at both forward spots.
We've finished November on a high note, winning three of our last four including a couple of routs and the victory over the Spurs. I'm hesitant to say we're on the right track but it's looking a lot better for us. It's important we find a way to win while we're down a starter so we can come out even stronger when Tyson returns. Chances are he might be out a little longer than the original estimate of two weeks.
December 1st, 2005
Sixers' guard out with back spasms
PHILADELPHIA, PA -- According to Sixers' team doctors, Andre Iguodala is expected to miss up to two weeks with a back injury. Iguodala has been suffering from back spasms after an awkward fall during a practice session. He managed to play 38 minutes in the Sixers' 90-89 victory over the Boston Celtics scoring 14 points but looked uncomfortable and was reportedly in a lot of pain after the game.
Iguodala has been averaging 17.6 ppg, 5.8 rpg, 2.5 apg and a sixth-best 2.31 spg so far this season.