TORONTO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls' latest win came with some bad news.
Carlos Boozer had a season-high 34 points and 12
rebounds, and Chicago won its seventh straight game by beating the Toronto
Raptors 110-93 on Wednesday night. But the Bulls announced afterward that
center Joakim Noah will miss eight to 10 weeks following surgery to repair a
torn ligament in his right thumb.
"It's frustrating because I feel like we have
a chance to be really, really good and I've never been in a situation where
we're winning like this," said Noah, who will undergo surgery Thursday.
"I know that, in the long run, this is what needs to be done."
Noah, who had 11 points and 11 rebounds against the
Raptors, was injured Nov. 27 at Sacramento but has been able to play through
pain for the past nine games. He also has sprained ligaments in his right index
finger and middle finger. Those injuries will not require surgery.
"It's tough not playing at a high level,"
Noah said. "It's hurting and I've got to take anti-inflammatories every
time I play. I can't practice. I have to get right and get back to this
team."
Boozer, who returned Dec. 1 after missing the first
month with a broken hand, praised Noah for battling through the injury as long
as he did.
"He's a warrior for playing through it for two
weeks," Boozer said. "You've got to take your hat off to him for
giving up his hand for us as long as he has."
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said he's undecided on
how he will handle the starting lineup in Noah's absence, but indicated he
would prefer to use the same five starters each game.
"It's disappointing for Joe but we're
confident in the abilities of the guys that we have," Thibodeau said.
"We've got more than enough to win with. Taj (Gibson) has played extremely
well, Kurt Thomas has played well for us, Luol (Deng) has played well for us, so
we have a number of players who can step up."
Deng added 19 points and Derrick Rose dished out 11
assists for the Bulls, who never trailed and led by as many as 29.
Rose started for the Bulls despite a sprained right
wrist and bruised right elbow, sustained when he fell hard in the fourth
quarter of Monday's victory over Indiana.
"Before the game I told (Boozer) to get
40," Rose said. "I knew it was one of those nights where my arm
wasn't right. I knew my passing was going to have to win the game. They have
some small bigs and he's big. He's a bully out there. That's what he did
tonight."
Kyle Korver scored 13 points and Ronnie Brewer had
10 as Chicago matched its longest winning streak since a seven-game run from
Nov. 25 to Dec. 8, 2006.
Leandro Barbosa scored 21 points for Toronto, which
lost for the sixth time in seven games. Jerryd Bayless had 20 and DeMar DeRozan
and Joey Dorsey each scored 12.
Bayless agreed with Rose that Chicago had
"bullied" the Raptors.
"It's embarrassing and I don't like it,"
Bayless said. "I'm not used to it and I'm not going to stand for it. We've
got to get better."
Making his first career start in place of Andrea
Bargnani, who missed his first game of the season with a sore left knee, Ed
Davis had 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Raptors.
Trailing 91-64 to begin the fourth, Toronto closed
the gap with a 12-2 run, cutting it to 93-76 on a layup by Barbosa with 7:21
remaining.
Gibson ended the spurt with a dunk and the Raptors
were unable to get any closer, allowing Chicago to close out a comfortable win.
Up 23-18 after one quarter, the Bulls got 12 points
from Boozer and 10 from Korver in the second, building a 63-44 lead at
halftime.
Boozer scored 14 points in the third as Chicago
took a 91-64 lead into the final quarter.
"Carlos is terrific," Thibodeau said.
"He can score so many different ways. He does it in transition, he does it
in the post, he does it off pick-and-roll, he does it off catch-and-shoot. He's
a tough matchup."
Chicago outrebounded Toronto 47-37.
Copyright
2010 The Associated Press.
(AP
Photo/The Canadian Press, Frank Gunn)
