NBA -- Noah stars in Bulls debut

CHICAGO -- Center Joakim Noah was easily the center of attention Wednesday night when the Chicago Bulls opened the 2012-13 NBA season with a convincing 93-87 defeat of the young but talented Sacramento Kings at the United Center along Madison St. on the west side of this city.

The 6-foot-11, 232-pound Noah, a five-year pro out of the University of Florida, stuffed the stats sheet with 23 points, 10 rebounds and three assists. The lanky 27-year old was the typical force on the defensive end, blocking three shots and grabbing five steals, efforts that contributed to Sacramento's poor shooting --- 34-of-84 field goals made (40.5 percent).

The Bulls didn't shoot particularly well, either -- 33-of-79 (41.8 percent) -- but they snagged 19 turnovers off an error-prone Sacramento and they outrebounded the Kings, 46-40. Those extra possessions made up for eight missed free throws and a mediocre 2-of-9 outing above the 3-point arc.

"It's Halloween and he had a monster night. He got us in the bonus almost all by himself," Bulls power forward Carlos Boozer told the Chicago Tribune after Chicago went 1-0 in the young season.

Boozer himself did have a quite productive evening, scoring 18 points and pulling down eight rebounds. The 6-foot-9 Boozer, who makes $15 million a year, also tallied two assists, a steal and three turnovers.

Veteran Rip Hamilton, who was supposed to be the other leg of Chicago's lethal point-guard-shooting guard combo until Derrick Rose tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and will miss a chunk of this season, fired 19 points on 7-of-16 shooting while Luol Deng had a very quiet seven points. and 12 rebounds.

The Kings had productive pre-season highlighted by two victories over the glitzy Los Angeles Lakers. But couldn't recapture that magic against the Bulls.

Sacramento got 21 points and eight rebounds from Tyreke Evans while 6-foot-11 center DeMarcus Cousins finished with a disappointing 14 points, seven rebounds and seven turnovers. (Julian Ramirez)