Clippers big man Marcus Camby called Andres Nocioni a flopper. So did Camby's coach, Mike Dunleavy. The best part? Ben Gordon did too -- kind of.
Asked Wednesday after Nocioni drew a critical -- and questionable -- offensive foul on Zach Randolph if he thought Nocioni was a flopper, Gordon, smiling, said he had "no comment on that." Then he said more.
"Noce is one of those guys you hate to play against but love to have on your team," Gordon said.
This is indisputable: Nocioni changed the complexion of the Bulls' overtime victory with one of his best performances in an inconsistent season.
Nocioni came from nowhere to block Mike Taylor's fast-break layup with the Clippers leading 92-88 with 6 minutes 51 seconds left. Later, he hit two three-pointers in one minute as part of his eight fourth-quarter points, the second prompting one of those fist-pumping, screaming fits the manic Argentine occasionally displays.
"We didn't have everybody clicking at the same time, but Noce kind of us held us together with his intensity," Gordon said.
Then came the offensive foul on Randolph with the Clippers trailing 110-109 and 51 seconds remaining in overtime.
Of course, Nocioni, who always flashes the cat-ate-the-canary smile when questioned about his defensive tactics, saw it differently than the Clippers.
"It was an offensive foul for sure," Nocioni said. "He hit me with his elbow in my face. He's a really tough player, really strong and big. But I did what I needed to do."
Actually, Nocioni did more than needed because he scored a season-high 22 points on 8-for-14 shooting. That's no small feat for a player shooting a career-low 39.6 percent.
"I'm struggling right now with my game," he said. "So I need a game like this for my confidence."
Layups: Tyrus Thomas rested Thursday and, according to someone close to the third-year forward, is improving from his concussion enough that he hopes to play Saturday against Utah. The Bulls released an update stating team physicians evaluated Thomas and he had a CT scan performed at Rush University Medical Center. All tests came back normal. ... After back-to-back overtime games, the Bulls didn't practice Thursday. They flew to Boston to face the Celtics, who own a 16-game winning streak. "We have to play with a lot of energy and not get down early," Gordon said.
kcjohnson@tribune.com
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