Fast Break NBA News: NBA Playoffs 2010 : Chicago Bulls 102 @ 112 Cleveland Cavaliers (0

Full Moon dooms Bulls as Cavs take Game 2

By Sam Amico, for NBA.com

CLEVELAND (NBA.com exclusive) -- When it comes to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Jamario Moon is rarely thought of as a difference-maker.

If he's thought of at all, it's usually as a guy who may or may not play, a guy with a great attitude who works hard and keeps a smile on everyone's face with a fun-loving and warm personality. But come off the bench and hit some of the game's most important shots? That's not what Moon is known for.

But all of that changed Monday night, when the 6-foot-8 forward stepped up big to help lift the Cavs to a 112-102 win over Chicago in Game 2 of their first-round series. The Cavs now hold a 2-0 edge.

Granted, LeBron James was the evening's brightest star, scoring 40 points on 16-for-23 shooting while passing for eight assists and grabbing eight rebounds. Not surprisingly, he provided plenty of highlights along the way, including a spectacular slam in which it appeared his elbow was considerably higher the rim.

But that's just James being James.

On this night, the Cavs needed something else, something unexpected, as the Bulls were determined not to get dominated underneath the basket like in Game 1.

On this night, that special something was Moon.

Every time the Bulls made a run or took a lead, there was Moon, standing wide open and calling for the ball as if waving down a taxi outside the 3-point arc. Five times Moon received the pass. Four times he knocked it down.

Yes, the Bulls got what they wanted in the lane. Yes, they played considerably better defense and took good care of the ball. And yes, they received the playoff performance of a lifetime from forward Joakim Noah (career playoff-high 25 points, 13 rebounds).

In fact, about the only thing the Bulls didn't do was respect the outside shooting of Moon. And why would they? This is a man who averaged 4.9 points per game in the regular season and shot 32 percent on threes. On Monday, he scored 12 on 80 percent.

And all Moon had to do was find the right spot, wait for the pass ... and bury the shot.

"After that second one, it felt pretty much like I was throwing it in the ocean," Moon said, smiling widely. "My teammates kept believing me and I kept believing myself and knocking 'em down."

Again, what makes this so difficult to swallow for the Bulls is the fact they scored 56 points in the paint against a team that surrendered just 36 per game in the regular season. They also received great performances from Derrick Rose (23 points, eight assists) and Luol Deng (20 points), and committed just four turnovers (compared to 11 for the Cavs).

Noah was especially remarkable, providing an endless supply of energy, confidence and reasons for Northeast Ohio to dislike him. It was an impressive showing, especially since Noah was booed loudly every time he touched the ball -- courtesy of some disparaging remarks he made about Cleveland a day earlier.

And he didn't exactly apologize when asked Monday if he had any regrets.

"You like it? You think Cleveland's cool?" Noah asked. "I've never heard anyone say, 'I'm going to Cleveland on vacation.'"

At least, the Bulls aren't really likely to say it after Game 2. They played perhaps their best basketball of the season, and trailed just 96-93 with 4:45 to go in the game, but still lost.

It makes it easy to wonder if Chicago will be a better place to reside when the series shifts there for Game 3 on Thursday.

"We played well enough to steal a game," said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. "But they earned it by making plays. And that's what it comes down to -- making plays."

Antawn Jamison added 14 points for the Cavs, and Mo Williams scored 12, including 8-for-8 shooting on free throws.

Flip Murray scored 14 for the Bulls, almost single-handedly keeping his team in it during the second quarter.

The game was tied 77-all at the end of the third, but the Cavs went on an 8-3 run to start the fourth and stayed in control until the end. They shot a sizzling 56 percent (40-for-71) for the night, compared to 44 percent (41-for-93) for the Bulls.

"We are going to continue to fight," Rose promised. "That is all we can do, just go out there and play the games. It's not going to be easy but we're in the NBA. That's why we're here, to play against them, and we're not backing down."

The Cavs are just as confident, likely more.

"It's all or nothing for us," James said. "The most important game is Game 3. We're getting ready for it right now."

Chicago Bulls (41-41)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
L. Deng	F	40:34	7-15	1-2	5-5	0	1	5	6	5	2	0	0	1	1	20
T. Gibson	F	23:03	5-7	0-0	1-1	+4	2	5	7	0	3	0	0	1	0	11
J. Noah	C-F	41:25	10-18	0-0	5-5	-15	7	6	13	3	3	1	0	1	2	25
K. Hinrich	G	35:49	2-8	1-3	0-0	-10	0	1	1	6	4	0	1	0	0	5
D. Rose	G	42:53	10-24	0-0	3-4	-13	0	2	2	8	3	2	1	0	4	23
B. Miller		22:06	2-6	0-2	0-0	-4	2	5	7	1	0	0	2	0	1	4
J. Johnson		04:52	0-1	0-0	0-0	-5	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0	1	0
R. Murray		29:18	5-14	2-6	2-2	-7	1	0	1	2	1	0	0	0	0	14
A. Law	DNP - Coach's Decision
J. Pargo	DNP - Coach's Decision
C. Richard	DNP - Coach's Decision
H. Warrick	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	41-93	4-13	16-17		13	24	37	25	19	3	4	3	9	102
			44.1%	30.8%	94.1%		team rebs: 6			total to: 4

Cleveland Cavaliers (61-21)
field goalsrebounds
	pos	min	fgm-a	3pm-a	ftm-a	+/-	off	def	tot	ast	pf	st	to	bs	ba	pts
L. James	F	41:05	16-23	2-4	6-6	+6	1	7	8	8	2	1	2	2	0	40
A. Jamison	F	30:22	6-12	1-3	1-1	+3	0	4	4	3	3	0	3	0	1	14
S. O'Neal	C	15:16	2-4	0-0	4-4	-1	1	6	7	1	4	0	4	0	0	8
A. Parker	G	24:04	3-5	3-5	0-0	-2	0	1	1	0	0	1	0	1	0	9
M. Williams	G	37:50	2-8	0-2	8-8	+6	0	3	3	6	1	0	0	1	1	12
A. Varejao		27:40	3-5	0-0	1-2	+7	0	5	5	1	4	0	1	1	0	7
Z. Ilgauskas		16:26	1-2	0-0	1-2	+5	3	1	4	0	2	0	0	2	0	3
D. West		27:15	3-7	0-1	1-1	+12	0	1	1	5	1	0	1	0	1	7
J. Moon		19:52	4-5	4-5	0-0	+14	0	3	3	0	2	0	0	2	0	12
J. Hickson		00:10	0-0	0-0	0-0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
D. Gibson	DNP - Coach's Decision
J. Williams	DNP - Coach's Decision
Total		240	40-71	10-20	22-24		5	31	36	24	19	2	11	9	3	112
			56.3%	50.0%	91.7%		team rebs: 7			total to: 12