By Paul Levine Nov 6, 2009, 7:24 GMT
Los Angeles - 'The King' couldn't deliver in the clutch.
Luol Deng and Joakim Noah combined to deny LeBron James a potential game-winning drive in the final seconds as and the visiting Chicago Bulls snapped the Cleveland Cavaliers' three-game winning streak with a gritty 86-85 road victory on Thursday night.
'It's a good day to be in Cleveland,' said Noah, who finished with seven points and 11 rebounds. 'It's a big win for us. When our offence starts clicking, we're gonna be even tougher.'
The Cavaliers trailed by one when they were awarded the ball with 4.3 seconds left on a 24-second clock violation after Deng's drive failed to hit the rim.
After receiving the inbounds pass out of a timeout, James drove the left side with Deng guarding closely. Noah came over from the paint to help against perhaps the best closer in the game.
The Bulls forward got his hand on the ball, and there appeared to be contact, causing the reigning league MVP to lose it, off his own arm, and out of bounds with two tenths of a second remaining.
'We just wanted to make sure not to give him a straight-line drive,' Deng said. 'I knew my help was going to be there. LeBron is so good you just have to try to slow him down.'
Before giving the ball to the Bulls, officials reviewed the play on a courtside monitor and ruled there was not enough contact to whistle a foul.
'I didn't feel like it was even close to being a foul,' Noah said. 'I wasn't worried because there was no contact at all.'
The non-call left James miffed.
'I felt a push from Deng and I felt some contact up top from Noah,' James said. 'Enough to put me on the free throw line? Yes. But that's a judgment call for the officials.'
Deng led Chicago (3-2) with 15 points. Derrick Rose had 14 along with 11 assists, while John Salmons also tallied 14.
James had a game-high 25 points, seven rebounds and six assists for the Cavaliers (3-3), whose two early home loses already equals last season's league-best 39-2 mark at Quicken Loans Arena.
Shaquille O'Neal accumulated 14 points, 10 rebounds and five blocks, while Brazilian Anderson Varejao finished with 12 points and 13 boards.
'We didn't shoot the ball well,' Cavs head coach Mike Brown said. 'In a one-point game, we shot 60 per cent from the free-throw line. We had our chances and we didn't pull it out. That's why every night, no matter who you play, it's going to be a dog fight.'
'You have to give Chicago credit,' he added. 'They came in here and gutted it out. They were very gritty.'
Elsewhere: Utah Jazz 113, San Antonio Spurs 99 Carlos Boozer collected 27 points and 14 rebounds, Deron Williams also had 27 points, with nine assists and seven boards, and the Jazz snapped a two-game slide by spanking the visiting Spurs.
'We needed a full 48 minutes of basketball and that's what we got,' Williams said. 'It was a great effort from everybody, especially on the defensive end.'
Russian Andrei Kirilenko and rookie Wesley Matthews tallied 12 points apiece for the Jazz (2-3) which shot 53 per cent from the floor (44-of-83) to end a four-game slide against the Spurs.
Frenchman Tony Parker scored 21 points, while Tim Duncan had 15 and 13 rebounds for well-rested San Antonio (2-2), playing its first game since beating Sacramento last Saturday night.
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