After being dominated in last year's first round playoff series to the 76ers following the devastating injury to MVP point guard Derrick Rose, the Chicago Bulls have been able to handle the 76ers fairly easily in their two meeting so far this season.
Two new members of the Chicago Bulls made big contributions to Wednesday night's victory; Marco Bellineli had 16 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists, and 2 steals for the Bulls, and Nate Robinson put in 14 points and 4 assists starting at point guard for Kirk Hinrich, who hurt his left knee the night before against the Clippers and is listed day-to-day.
 |
| Joakim Noah had an All-Star statline vs 76ers (21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal). |
Luol Deng had a double-double, going for 19 points, 12 rebounds.
Joakim Noah had an All-Star statline Wednesday night against the 76ers, putting up 21 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 3 blocks, 1 steal and leading the Chicago Bulls to their 4th straight road win.
"We've been fighting all year, but we've let a lot of games slip," Noah said. "But there's a lot of basketball left and we have to keep playing like this. Back-to-back can be tough if you let it. We fought hard and we had everyone here contribute. That's what you need and I thought we were resilient. We went to the basket hard and we went to the glass hard."
Noah knows about effort and going to the glass hard; last week, the potential All-Star center scored 30 points and grabbed 23 rebounds against the Detroit Pistons. In the absence of MVP Derrick Rose, Noah has stepped up to become a dependable cornerstone and on court leader for the Bulls, and Noah stands a strong chance of being voted as the starting center for the Eastern Conference NBA All-Star Team.
The Bulls' victory clinches a season series win for Chicago; the Bulls and 76ers will meet one more time this season (2/28/13).
Have you voted for Joakim Noah, Luol Deng, and Your Bulls to the 2013 NBA All-Star Game? Why do you think Joakim Noah deserves to be an All-Star? Comment Below!
