CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) -- Andres Nocioni has been doing his best to

try and carry the Chicago Bulls into the playoffs.

Nocioni had 24 points and 11 rebounds and the Bulls beat the

Charlotte Bobcats 113-107 on Friday night.

"I played a good game, but I'm so happy because the team won,"

Nocioni said. "The last time I played well and we lost. For me the

most important thing is to make the playoffs."

Luol Deng scored 21 points and Chris Duhon added 19 for the

Bulls, who remained 1½ games behind Philadelphia in the battle for

the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with 10 games

remaining. The 76ers beat the Knicks 117-112.

Nocioni, who had a career-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds

Tuesday against Orlando, has made 24-of-44 shots since being held

to two points on 1-of-7 shooting against New Orleans on March 24.

Signed as a free-agent by Chicago in Aug. 2004, Nocioni is

averaging 18.5 points in the past 12 games.

"He brings toughness and exuberance to our group," Bulls coach

Scott Skiles said. "He's legitimately trying to get in there and

take contact. I thought all around he was excellent tonight."

Jumaine Jones scored 28 points and Gerald Wallace added 26 and

12 rebounds for the Bobcats, who surrendered 100 or more points for

the ninth consecutive game.

"They came out with a lot of energy. They're still fighting for

a playoff spot," Jones said. "We just came out slow."

The Bulls, who had lost two straight games to the Bobcats, each

by 13 points, fell behind 21-17 on Jones' fastbreak dunk with 6:03

left in the first quarter. Skiles called a timeout, and Chicago

immediately went on a 14-0 run, capped by Deng's reverse layup.

"I just sprinkled the magic dust on them and they took off,"

Skiles said. "I don't remember what I said."

Chicago never trailed again, but after building a 24-point lead,

the Bulls let the Bobcats get within five in the closing minute.

Unlike Tuesday when the Bulls managed just 11 fourth-quarter points

in a loss to Orlando, Deng and Ben Gordon combined to hit 5-of-6

free throws to close it out.

"Sometimes we have pressure in the last five minutes and today

that happened again. I think everybody is thinking about that,"

Nocioni said. "Everybody has to play relaxed and make free throws

and hit the open shots. We are professionals."

Chicago slowly built the lead in the first half by taking the

ball inside against Charlotte, without much resistance. Deng's

three-point play in the final minute was part of a 7-0 spurt to end

the half that put the Bulls ahead 67-43 as Chicago shot 61 percent

in the first half.

"The alarm clock didn't go off until the second half," Bobcats

coach Bernie Bickerstaff. "We didn't match their intensity on

defense. We got hung up on fools' gold. Jump shots were going in,

but we didn't stop anybody. The deficit was too much to overcome."

The Bobcats made several runs in the second half behind Wallace,

who scored 14 points after halftime. Charlotte got within eight

points on Jones' 3 with 10:33 left, but Nocioni scored on a post

move on the next possession.

Duhon's second straight 3-pointer with 3:54 left put Chicago up

101-87. Nocioni fouled out with 3:04 left, and while the Bobcats

rallied, it wasn't enough.Game notes
The Bulls play the 76ers two more times, on April 5 and 8.

... Skiles said Darius Songaila, out with a broken right foot,

might be able to return if the Bulls make the playoffs. ... Bobcats

center Primoz Brezec had eight points and four rebounds after

missing Tuesday's game with back spasms.