CHICAGO -- Chicago Bulls fans chanted "MVP" when Joakim Noah made big plays. Noah doesnt like the attention. "Thats not whats important to me," Noah said. "Its just all about this team right now. Weve been through so much. Its not about individual accolades." Noah turned in another MVP-type performance on Saturday night, finishing with 23 points and 11 rebounds in the Bulls 94-87 victory over the Sacramento Kings. "First thing is his game is through the roof right now. His confidence is through the roof," teammate Taj Gibson said. But Noah would rather focus the attention on the team and how it withstood the Kings comeback. Gibson scored seven of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, Mike Dunleavy added 16 and DJ Augustin had 12 for the Bulls (37-29), who are fourth in the Eastern Conference and improved to 3-2 on their six-game homestand. "It was very physical out there tonight," said Noah, who added eight assists, five blocked shots and three steals to his 33rd double-double. "That was a good win. We didnt let frustration get to us. We stuck with it." Isaiah Thomas led the Kings with 26 and DeMarcus Cousins had 25 points and 14 rebounds. The Kings (23-43) won the rebounding battle 55-40, but committed 16 turnovers and were 23 of 37 at the free-throw line. "Thats a lot of points to be left on the court," Kings coach Michael Malone said. "The reality is were just not good enough to not take advantage of all of those free throws." Both teams struggled on offence, with the Bulls shooting 40 per cent and the Kings 37 per cent. "The fact that we allowed a team that does not score a lot in transition score 20 fast-break points, obviously that wasnt part of our game plan," Malone said. The Kings are 2-4 on their seven-game road trip. Cousins hit a layup with 1:01 left to cut the Bulls lead to 88-85. Gibson responded with a jumper with 42.2 seconds left, and the Bulls made four of six free throws to seal the win. The Bulls led 48-43 at halftime before the Kings outscored them 20-16 in the third to pull within one. The Bulls have won four straight at home against the Kings, the only team below .500 to visit during the homestand. Noah had 17 points and five rebounds and Rudy Gay led the Kings with 10 points at halftime. Noah scored 12 points in the first quarter, which ended 23-23. "Noah is an incredible player. I say hes the heart and soul of that Bulls team," Cousins said. The game was more competitive than the teams previous meeting. The Kings routed the Bulls 99-70 at Sleep Train Arena on Feb. 3, when the Bulls finished with season lows in points and shooting percentage (28.2). "Thats a good team even though their record is not too well," Gibson said. "They tend to play well at times. It was a battle tonight." NOTES: Dunleavys right eye was black and blue and he wore tape above it. He received 10 stitches after he caught an elbow when he drew a charge Thursday in the Bulls 111-87 win over Houston. ... Evans started at power forward for the Kings to match up against the Bulls front line. Malone said the Kings will decide who plays the position based on each games matchup. Derrick Williams has played both forward positions. ... Malone was impressed with G Jimmer Fredette, who played 41 games with the Kings this season before he signed with the Bulls on March 2. "He was always in the gym, even on off days, committed to getting his work in," Malone said. "Even when he was not playing and part of the rotation, he never dropped his head, kept on working, kept on supporting his teammates. Thats why I think the Bulls at some point will be able to use him." ... The Kings are 10-24 on the road. Kent Bazemore Jersey . Maximilian Arnold put Wolfsburg ahead in the eighth minute, when the stationary Fallou Diagne allowed him to guide Patrick Ochs cross beyond the helpless Freiburg goalkeeper, and Ivica Olic doubled the lead three minutes later after Luiz Gustavo did well to set him up. Skal Labissiere Blazers Jersey . -- Keith Aulie has joined the Tampa Bay Lightning. https://www.blazerslockerroom.com/Jusuf-...ion-Jersey/.com) - The Winnipeg Jets placed defenceman Paul Postma on injured reserve Tuesday. Mario Hezonja Blazers Jersey . After a 99-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, his Celtics coaches and teammates have only positive things to say about the Toronto-born rookie. C.J. McCollum Jersey . Ashton scored a hat trick -- giving him 13 goals in 16 AHL games this season -- to power the Toronto Marlies to a 5-2 victory over the visiting Lake Erie Monsters in AHL action on Sunday.SEATTLE -- Though the Mariners are the team in a tight playoff race, it was the Houston Astros who played like contenders Tuesday night. Jonathan Villar hit a tiebreaking single in the ninth inning to lift Collin McHugh and the Astros to a 2-1 victory over Seattle. Logan Morrison homered off McHugh in the eighth to tie it, but Houston countered and dropped the Mariners a half-game out in the race for the second AL wild card. "This type of win builds character," said interim Astros manager Tom Lawless, who is 5-2 since taking over when Bo Porter was fired last week. "They have the confidence and they know they can win. When you have that, you come out ahead a lot of times. And its someone different every night." With two outs in the ninth, Yoervis Medina (4-3) walked Jon Singleton and he advanced to second on a wild pitch. Singleton moved to third on Matt Dominguezs single to deep shortstop. Villar bounced a 1-1 fastball from Charlie Furbush to the right of second baseman Robinson Cano, who made a dive for the ball as it skipped over his glove and rolled into right field. "We had the matchup we wanted," Mariners manager Lloyd McClendon said. "We had the groundball we wanted. It just took a bad hop. Tough break." Houston (64-81) has won 13 of 21, and the Astros are nearly halfway through a stretch that has them facing playoff contenders in 18 straight games. "Its a good sign of things to come for this organization," McHugh said. McHugh (9-9) permitted only two hits in eight innings -- an infield single in the fourth and Morrisons long homer off the facade of the second deck in right field. The right-hander struck out four and walked none. Josh Fields worked the ninth for his fourth save. "The way we lost tonight is not ideal. We take it a little harder. But it is what it is: one game," Morrison said. "We still control our own destiny so if we continue to take care of business, well be fine." Roenis Elias pitched six innings for the Mariners, allowing one run and six hits. He walked two and struck out four. The Astros scored with two outs in the fourth. With Jake Marisnick on first, Singleton sent a line shot to right that hit the yellow line at the top of the 8-foot wall. In his attemptt to gather it in, right fielder Michael Saunders bobbled the ball twice.dddddddddddd That allowed Marisnick to beat the relay home on the double. A replay review kept the Astros off the board in the sixth. With two outs and runners on first and second, Singleton bounced a grounder to the right of Morrison at first base. He made a high toss to Elias covering. Elias leaped for the ball and came down on the bag at the same time as Singleton. Singleton was ruled safe, and Chris Carter raced across the plate. McClendon challenged the call at first, which was reversed. Joe Beimel pitched to one batter in the ninth for his 50th appearance. That gave the Mariners seven relievers with at least 50 appearances, matching the major league record set by the 2002 Atlanta Braves. EXTENDED STAY? Lawless, who took over the team last Tuesday, said he hasnt talked to anyone in the front office but certainly would like to stick around after this season. "Ive been in baseball forever. Well see what happens," he said. "Hopefully, Ill be included in the mix and we can just take it from there. Maybe this is a nice tryout for me, to see what I can do and see how everybody responds and how were going about our business." SUCCESSFUL IN SEATTLE In two starts at Safeco Field, McHugh has given up just one run and allowed five hits while striking out 16. Over his last eight starts, he is 5-0 with a 1.69 ERA. "I had better fastball command than Ive had in a while. It felt good coming out of my hand," McHugh said. "Its nice to be able to put the ball where you want. It was pretty frustrating to battle almost eight innings and (Morrison) puts a swing like that on it. You tip your hat, but it was still a tie game and we had a job to do." TRAINERS ROOM Mariners: An MRI revealed bone spurs in OF Dustin Ackleys painful left ankle. He missed his third straight game. The club hopes he can return for the weekend series against Oakland. UP NEXT Mariners RHP Hisashi Iwakuma (14-6, 2.97 ERA), who starts the series finale Wednesday, is 6-1 with a 2.70 ERA in his last eight starts. He has as many wins as walks this season. Iwakuma will be opposed by RHP Nick Tropeano, making his major league debut. The September call-up was a fifth-round selection in the 2011 draft. ' ' '