Florida Gators
Georgia Southern (DH)
Noah, Bulls bounce back against Horford's Hawks in Game 2 of ex-Gators' playoff series
Thursday, May 5, 2011 | Men's Basketball, Scott Carter
After his ex-Florida teammate Al Horford helped the Hawks win Game 1 of the Eastern Conference semifinal series, Chicago's Joakim Noah responded in a loud way on Wednesday night in Game 2.
If you saw any of the game on TV, you could probably hear Noah yelling to his teammates and the crowd on several occasions. But Noah did more than yell, finishing with 19 points and 14 rebounds to help the Bulls even the series 1-1 with an 86-73 win.
The series moves to Atlanta for Game 3 on Friday night.
This is the first time the former Gator big men have met in the NBA Playoffs. Both are in their fourth seasons in the NBA and while teammates and roommates at Florida, they helped the Gators win back-to-back national titles in 2006 and 2007.
While Horford got the best of Noah in Game 1, Noah clearly had the better performance in Game 2. Noah played 39 minutes, hitting 6 of 8 shots and grabbing seven offensive rebounds. He also hit 7 of 8 free throws, had three assists, two steals and a block.
When Noah was on the court for the Bulls, Chicago was +12 in net points. Meanwhile, Horford matched Noah's game-high 14 rebounds and had a team-high six assists for the Hawks, but after a hot shooting game for Atlanta's guards in Game 1, they cooled off in Game 2.
Horford played a team-high 44 minutes but left the United Center knowing his team was outplayed by the energetic Bulls.
“Tough one tonight,'' Horford tweeted shortly after the game. “We came out and competed, the Bulls just outplayed us. Let's go home and get right.''
Quotes of Note:
“Monster game – he was dunking the crap out of the ball. He was great, phenomenal. They had [Hawks forward] Josh Smith trying to keep him off the glass and it wasn't working. When he's playing like that, it takes us to another level.'' – Bulls forward Carlos Boozer on Noah's performance in Game 2.
“That's the way it is with playoff basketball. It's going to be intense; it's going to be contact. You have to embrace that. You can't shy away from that and, at times, I think we shied away from that.” – Horford on the more physical play in Game 2, led by Noah's high-energy game for the Bulls.
