Share
CHICAGO -- The first five games demonstrated that when the Charlotte Bobcats defend and rebound, they can be pretty good.
The second half Saturday demonstrated that when they stop defending and rebounding, they don't have much else to fall back on.
The Chicago Bulls shot 21-of-35 in the second half and outrebounded the Bobcats by eight. That was enough to make up a nine-point deficit and hold off the Bobcats 93-90 at the United Center.
The Bobcats (3-3) had their chances at the end - Flip Murray missed two 3-pointers in the last 19 seconds - but ultimately this came down to the Bobcats allowing Chicago center Joakim Noah to finish with 16 rebounds and a career-high 21 points.
"We got hurt on penetration,'' said Bobcats coach Larry Brown. "And usually when you have a hard time scoring, the other team isn't going against a set defense. And Noah was all over the boards.''
A deep freeze in the last 31/2 minutes of the third quarter cost the Bobcats all of a 70-61 lead.
Gerald Wallace's 3-pointer - his first of the season after seven misses - opened that nine-point margin. Then the Bobcats went scoreless in 11 straight possessions before Tyson Chandler dunked two minutes into the fourth quarter. By then, the Bulls had pulled ahead 77-70.
The 51/2 scoreless minutes included 10 missed shots and some really unfortunate turnovers. For instance, Chandler committed basket-interference, trying to tap in a miss by D.J. Augustin.
The Bobcats played about as well as they can, on the road against a quality opponent, to lead 53-46 at halftime. They shot great (50 percent from the field and 8-of-15 from 3-point range) and they guarded efficiently, holding the Bulls to 42 percent shooting.
The only problems were early turnovers (seven in the first quarter) and some foul trouble. Vlade Radmanovic picked up four in the first half, and centers Chandler and Nazr Mohammed had two each. Those fouls limited the centers to a combined nine minutes before halftime.
As it did versus the Atlanta Hawks Friday, the availability of both Raja Bell and Murray created good spacing. That opened driving lanes and post-up opportunities for forwards Boris Diaw (20 points, seven rebounds and five assists) and Wallace.
The only Bull who really hurt the Bobcats in the first half was shooting guard John Salmons, who scored 16 of his 27 points before halftime.
