Nocioni, Bulls take fight out of James
You always are supposed to marvel at LeBron James: the long, languid strides, the explosive jumping and showmanship, the commercials.
James obliged Thursday night at the United Center with one of those quick takeoffs for a lob pass and slam dunk—and also one of those breakaway hammering slams after a steal.
Maybe you can believe those TV commercials in which James makes the full-court jumpers after he made a big rainbow three-pointer to tie the Cleveland Cavaliers' game against the Bulls at the end of regulation.
Of course, there also are the now-regular exploits of the Amazing Ben, the new superhero who can launch shots over the biggest, widest, tallest men in the world with seeming ease. Watch him scale big centers in a single bound.
Coming off his 22-point fourth quarter Wednesday night, Ben Gordon dropped in his share of banks and floaters Thursday that would have most coaches yelling, "No, no, no … good shot."
When all the Cavs chased Gordon around with a few seconds left in regulation like he had a bag filled with James' rookie cards, Gordon slipped the ball off to Tyson Chandler for a three-point play that seemed like the winner with 2.4 seconds left.
With all the flamboyant play in the Bulls' 102-90 overtime victory over the Cavs though, the most fun was watching Andres Nocioni treat James like he was … well … just another guy.
Even though the Argentine doesn't speak English well, you figure he has heard of James and probably has seen his picture on TV.
But Nocioni's lack of respect was impressive.
Perhaps the best moment came late in the fourth quarter as the Cavs strained to get back in a game the Bulls pretty much controlled up to that point. James turned to referee Jess Kersey and showed him the string on the front of his basketball pants almost coming down the back.
Yes, Nocioni seemed literally to be in James' shorts.
"He was doing that all night," James said. "There's no humor in [it]."
James hit most of his averages with 26 points, six rebounds, seven assists, four steals and two blocks. But to get that 26 points, he attempted 28 shots. Luol Deng helped Nocioni with a few turns on James, but Nocioni was on him for most of his 41 minutes.
Yes, James did hit that tying shot, but he had missed 3 of 4 free throws just before and soon would be putting up his third air ball of the game.
No doubt, Nocioni's play had a lot to do with that.
He personified another strength of this Bulls team—a relentless desire to control the opponent.
The Cavs had more talent on the floor, at least according to the press clippings and experts. They had James, All-Star center Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden, who led all scorers with 27.
Nocioni played like he didn't know any of them. Even the Bulls fluent in English played like that. They always seem to.
No one would suggest James was afraid or cowered, but Nocioni seemed to make him back off to start the game with one field goal and three points in the first quarter.
The Cavs are a team that needs to push the game to win. When they fail to score 90 points, they are 1-17. They were working on one more loss like that until overtime. They are 24-5 when they score more than 100 points. Like many teams with a scoring star, the Cavs prefer the unimpeded game because they have the talent.
Not to say the Bulls are without talent with so many high draft picks. But they don't have a player on the roster who ever has been an All-Star. They were missing Eddy Curry, who has played like one of late, out with an irregular heartbeat. Gordon has All-Star written all over his future.
Nocioni has thug written on him to a lot of players in the NBA. Some around the league say that about San Antonio's Bruce Bowen and have said it about Indiana's suspended Ron Artest. But a team needs that kind of desire, backed up by the team support the Bulls provide.
"He does a lot of grabbing and holding and scratching, everything to try to irritate me," James said. "He did a good job fighting me and getting help from his back line. And you have to give someone credit for that. It can get frustrating when you don't get some calls you deserve, so you have to keep fighting."
Nocioni did. Lacking the speed and quickness of James, he nevertheless picked up James beyond the three-point line. He kept a hand in his face, crouching like a cat and leaping out at James with an annoying hand in his face. Wherever James went—over screens, into the post—Nocioni was there, pushing and denying position, forcing James out for jump shot after jump shot, where he is least dangerous.
It was a joy to watch.
"They're a good team," said James. "You can't take nothing from them."
And they don't give much without a fight.
