3/07/2008

Noah and the Bulls...


CHICAGO - Joakim Noah turned in perhaps the best outing of his rookie season Thursday with 13 points and 20 rebounds, leading the Chicago Bulls past Cleveland107-96.

The Bulls overcame a 39-point effort from LeBron James.

Luol Deng and Ben Gordon both scored 23 for Chicago, which put together a third-period run to win its second straight. The Bulls have won two in a row for the first time in almost two months and have not had a three-game winning streak all season.

Cleveland had won its three previous games, including a victory Wednesday over New York in which James scored 50 points.

James scored 26 in the first half Thursday, but was not as effective after colliding with Chicago's Kirk Hinrich early in the third quarter.

Cleveland owned a 53-49 advantage in the third before Chicago scored 17 consecutive points. The Cavaliers came no closer than eight in the fourth period and Chicago tacked on a 14-2 surge in the final quarter. Noah finished off that burst with a layup.

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