Injured Noah ‘an absolute warrior’
With Joakim Noah playing through plantar fasciitis, Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau reiterated Thursday night that he wanted his center to play 20-25 minutes.
“Somewhere in there,” Thibodeau said after Noah played 27 minutes in a 79-76 Game 3 win.
Asked if there was a chance to extend Noah’s minutes, Thibodeau said, “Yeah, a minute or two, or something like that.” Or more. Much more. Noah’s playing time Saturday was nearly 39 minutes and only stopped there because he fouled out early in the third overtime of a 142-134 Bulls win. And, after scoring 16 points in the first three games combined, Noah finished with 15 points, 13 rebounds and four blocked shots on Saturday.
“Unbelievable. The crazy thing is, as the series goes on and on, he’s done more and more and more,” forward Carlos Boozer said.
“Joakim has been an absolute warrior.”
Noah said how he feels now ver- sus Game 1 is “not even comparable.”
“It’s a miracle,” he said. “I mean, before this series started, I thought I wasn’t going to be able to play. The last month, I must have done 40-50 different treatments. I don’t know exactly what it is that helped me, but it’s a little bit better.”
Thibodeau marveled at Noah’s performance, despite limited practice time.
“He’s sort of mucking through it right now,” Thibodeau said. “But he keeps going, goes after every ball. His defense is always great, and then he found his rhythm.”
Watson scrap
Former Bulls guard C.J. Watson got tangled up with Nate Robinson in the second quarter, and each received a technical foul.
Asked about Robinson shoving him, Watson said, “That’s in his character, so it doesn’t surprise me.” Boozer downplayed it all. “It’s just playoff basketball,” he said. “Sometimes, you just get tired of seeing the same face.”
Defense rests
The Bulls set playoff franchise records in points (142) and field goals (58). And while they appreciate winning in that fashion, they’d prefer to return to their usual ways.
“You have to win different ways, especially in the playoffs,” Boozer said. “But we’d like to play a more defensive-minded game.”
Added Noah, “It was good that we won, but our defense is what brought us here.”