Latest bulletin, sports buzz

Noah of Bulls Deny LeBron in Final Seconds

In ugly games like this, it’s about chasing down loose balls as if they’re worth a million bucks. It’s about playing with your knees bent, elbows out, and never losing sight of your man on defense. It’s not about grabbing every rebound, but getting to the rebounds that count. Mostly, it’s about making the biggest stops against the game’s brightest stars.

And anyone who witnessed Chicago’s 86-85 win in Cleveland on Thursday could see that maybe the Bulls have found their niche. Maybe they will just out-scrap you. Was the offense pretty? Far from it! Was the defense perfect? Not really, but it did the job.

Did the Bulls embarrass the Cavaliers on the boards? Well, no. They actually lost that battle (49-43). Yet somehow, this young team that is still learning found a way in what was the NBA’s most difficult arena last season.

The big man Joakim Noah of Bulls, leap into the air to distract Cleveland’s LeBron James near the basket, with the Bulls clinging to a one-point lead and the reigning MVP looking to make a play. But instead of James saving the day, Noah got his hand on the ball (and a little body on James), causing LeBron to lose it, off his own arm, and out of bounds. Two-tenths of second remained and the Bulls had possession – of the ball and of their first win in Ohio in two seasons.

It earned Noah the right to stand in the middle of the locker room afterward, smiling and saying to no one in particular, “It’s a good day to be in Cleveland.”