Noah agonisingly close to yet another triple double this season.
There were three games on the NBA schedule on Thursday night, with the Chicago Bulls holding the Houston Rockets to a low score en route to securing a significant win.
Mike Dunleavy required 10 stitches after suffering a cut above his right eye before half-time, but he returned in the second half to score all of his 21 points to help the Bulls pull away.
“The hit knocked a little sense into me, I guess,” Dunleavy said after the win, which improved Chicago to 36-29 for the season as they moved to within a game of the Toronto Raptors in third place in the Eastern Conference.
Joakim Noah flirted with a triple-double, finishing with 13 points, 10 rebounds and nine assists while Kirk Hinrich scored 19 points in a real team effort with Jimmy Butler, Carlos Boozer and D.J. Augustin all ending the game in double scoring figures.
Dwight Howard had 12 points and 10 rebounds while James Harden had a disappointing night with just eight points on 2-for-7 shooting in 27 minutes.
Elsewhere, the Oklahoma City Thunder gained revenge for their loss on Sunday to the Los Angeles Lakers, defeating their Western Conference rivals at home to move to 48-17.
Russell Westbrook had 29 points and nine assists while Kevin Durant added another 29 points as the hosts coasted to victory.
After going for a career-high 42 points on Sunday, Jodie Meeks was held to 19 points as Westbrook insisted after the game that the Thunder did not afford him extra attention.
Serge Ibaka added 15 points, 13 rebounds and a season-high seven blocks as Oklahoma City won their second straight to climb within a half-a-game of the San Antonio Spurs for the top record in the West.
NBA Results:
Houston Rockets 87-111 Chicago Bulls
Milwaukee Bucks 97-102 Atlanta Hawks
Los Angeles Lakers 102-131 Oklahoma City Thunder
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