E'Twaun Moore: 'I Don't Think I Have Nerves'
By Cody Westerlund-
CHICAGO (CBS) – With 37.9 seconds left Thursday in the most entertaining basketball game the United Center has hosted all season, Bulls guard E'Twaun Moore broke character for a split second.
After Thunder star Russell Westbrook drained a 21-footer over his outstretched arms to put Oklahoma City up three, Moore thrust his right fist through the air at nothing in particular, exuding his frustration. The always professional, even-keeled Moore had done all he could, but he was helpless on this sequence. Such is life hounding the NBA's most explosive player when he's on fire in hanging 43 points.
Moore took some empathetic slaps from teammates as he returned to the bench and gathered himself, never imagining what would follow.
Playing major crunch time minutes for only the second time all season, Moore took a touch pass from Pau Gasol off a sideline out of bounds with the Bulls trailing by one and hit the game-winning 3-pointer with 2.1 seconds left, sending the United Center into a frenzy that was unrivaled in this season. Chicago sealed the 108-105 win after Moore and Joakim Noah forced Westbrook to step out of bounds on a double team on the ensuing inbounds, and it simultaneously sealed the best performance Moore had ever delivered as a pro.
A career-high 19 points on 9-of-10 shooting. His first game-winning shot in the NBA. The most intense chest bumps from Bulls teammates to date.
"I don't think I have nerves, at least I don't feel them," Moore said. "I don't know. It's just going and playing basketball. Like I said, I've been playing basketball for a long time, so it's nothing new to me."
Moore's story is a tale of professionalism and patience. He's a fourth-year pro who's had 22 DNP-coach's decisions this season. When Moore does get in, it's often not for long – he's often used as an end-of-the-quarter defensive replacement, logging a two-second stint on at least one occasion earlier this season.
That's what made Thursday so special for Moore, even if he tempered his excitement with his usual calm demeanor in the postgame locker room. He wasn't just the last-second hero. Moore was a go-to guy for the entire fourth quarter, scoring 13 points and holding Westbrook to seven points in the final frame as the primary defender on him.
Moore's final shot was the sweetest, coming over the outstretched arm of a hard-closing Westbrook after the latter had helped down too far on the block when Gasol caught the inbounds pass on the left block and kicked it to the corner before landing.
Falling backward amid the chaos, Moore watched from the United Center hardwood as the ball found all net.
"It's just a natural instinct," Moore said later in explaining how he produced so well after riding the pine so often. "I've been playing basketball for a long time. It's not brand new to me. I'm always ready."
Adding to the intrigue of Moore's heroics was another subplot, one framed in the bigger picture of an organization that features a front office and coach who don't see eye to eye.
When it was recently learned that Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler would likely be out until April, speculation ensued that the Bulls may sign another guard – perhaps Nate Robinson, who Thibodeau is fond of from his energizing 2012-'13 performance in Chicago. Bulls executives John Paxson and Gar Forman made no such move, sending a subtle message in the process: Give the young players on the roster a chance.
It was Thibodeau who'd readied the 26-year-old Moore for this moment, then drew up a play that put him in position to seize the opportunity. He was rewarded for the newfound faith.
"Pau, I thought, made a great read on that because the defense collapsed," Thibodeau said. "A lot of guys probably would've shot that. He had the presence of mind to trust the pass. E'Twaun, you can't say enough about the kid. You guys don't see him every day. He comes in early every day. He stays late. He's always prepared, doesn't matter if you play him two seconds in a game, 10 minutes, 20 minutes."
Moore's breakout was just the latest unpredictable development for the Bulls, who flip the script every time we think we have a feel for them. Rose, Butler and Taj Gibson are sidelined for an extended period of time? Of course it makes sense that Chicago (39-23) would now find itself in second place in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of Cleveland and Toronto, in a season that Noah called "up and down."
"It shows that you guys don't know much, first of all," Noah told reporters. "Nah, I think that's the beauty of sports. You guys can analyze the game and talk about what's going to happen before the game and pregame talk and talk, talk, talk, but you don't know what you don't know. And that's the truth.
"You got to sacrifice for one another and just enjoy the process too. This is fun. You're seeing the way the young boys are stepping up."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for CBSChicago.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
