Joakim Noah had 17 points, 11 rebounds and nine assists to help the Bulls beat the Boston Celtics 94-82 on Thursday night.Carlos Boozer added 16 points, Luol Deng 14, Taj Gibson 12, Mike Dunleavy 11 and Jimmy Butler 10 as the balanced Bulls snapped a two-game skid at home. They have two remaining on a four-game homestand.Noah had nine assists early in the fourth quarter, but couldn’t get another and fell just short of a triple-double. Butler missed a jumper with 8 seconds left, Noah’s last chance at reaching 10 assists.The Bulls (13-18) passed the Celtics (13-19) for eighth place in the Eastern Conference. The top eight teams make the playoffs.Jordan Crawford led the Celtics, who have lost two straight, with 22 points.The Bulls had dropped six of seven home games to fall to 7-7 at the United Center this season. Worse, five of the six losses came against teams with losing records at the time of the game. That stretch began two days after the Bulls scored
a 20-point home win against defending champion Miami. The Bulls also have a 16-point home win against Indiana, the club with the best record in the Eastern Conference.The Bulls led 24-21 at the end of the first quarter and 48-45 at halftime. Except for a stretch early in the second quarter, the Bulls were able to hold onto the lead because they avoided the extended scoring droughts that have hampered them of late.Boozer led the way offensively with 14 first-half points, while Noah played the setup role with six first-half assists, including a nice lob to Gibson for an alley-oop dunk.The Bulls were able to take a 70-62 edge into the fourth quarter thanks to two big plays in the final seconds of the third quarter by Dunleavy, who blocked a shot by Kris Humphries and had a follow basket on the other end. Noah opened the scoring in the final period to give the Bulls their first double-digit lead at 72-62.Dunleavy scored the next five points to cap an 11-0
run for a 77-62 advantage with 10 1/2 minutes to play and the Bulls were never seriously threatened after that.

NOTES: Celtics G Rajon Rondo, sidelined nearly a year since tearing his ACL, said before the game he is likely to play a stint in the D-League before returning. ”I think that’s what it’s for,” he said. ”I’d probably be the first guy to do that, but it doesn’t make a difference. I want to make sure I’m healthy and handle it the right way. I haven’t had a preseason. I haven’t had a training camp.” There is no timetable for Rondo’s return. … The Bulls had a full complement of players — other than star G Derrick Rose, who is out for the season — for a second straight game after playing short-handed for virtually all of December. ”The challenge is how quickly we can adapt to the moving parts,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. ”It solidifies the groupings. Your bench is intact, your starters are intact and now you can get a rhythm into what plays you’re running with each unit. I think that’s a big plus. The games keep coming, so you have to find different
ways to win.

EVANSTON—Traevon Jackson is paying close attention to Nigel Hayes. Same for Sam Dekker, who thinks the freshman reserve is going to be a big-time player for No. 4 Wisconsin.Jackson and Dekker are teaching. Hayes is listening, and it’s paying off.Hayes had a career-high 19 points and the Badgers remained unbeaten with an easy 76-49 victory over Northwestern in their Big Ten opener Thursday night.

”What Nigel’s doing, one of the biggest reasons he’s able to do that, besides his frame, is that he’s intelligent,” Wisconsin coach Bo Ryan said. ”Very smart. Picks up things very quickly and he’s so perceptive on the court.”

Hayes went 8 for 12 from the field and had a season-high six rebounds while showing a nice combination of power and finesse. The prize recruit is averaging 15.3 points in his last three games.

”I’m feeling a little more comfortable out there,” Hayes said.
The 6-foot-7 Hayes also credited Jackson for his improvement, praising the junior point guard for taking him under his wing.Nobody can guard him. We know that,” Jackson said. ”But he has to have that mentality that nobody can guard him. He’s the only person that can guard himself.”

Dekker scored 15 points and Jackson had 10 for the Badgers (14-0, 1-0), who earned their seventh consecutive win against the Wildcats. They shot 55 percent (32 for 58) from the field and enjoyed a 38-27 rebounding edge.Northwestern (7-7, 0-1) has dropped two straight after a three-game winning streak. Alex Olah had a career-high 23 points, but leading scorer Drew Crawford was held to 10 points on 3-for-11 shooting.

”Any time you lose a game in a blowout, you are angry,” said Crawford, who was averaging 16.4 points coming into the day. ”If we could play tomorrow, I would love to play tomorrow.After a loss like that, everything you want to do just tells you to get back onto the court.”

Wisconsin improved to 14-0 for the first time since the Badgers won each of their 15 games in the 1911-12 and 1913-14 seasons. It was their 11th straight win in a Big Ten opener.They can match the school record for fastest start with a victory against No. 22 Iowa in their first conference home game on Sunday.

”This is an amazing group to this point,” Ryan said. ”It’s 14 games.”

Wisconsin grabbed control with a virtually flawless first half, scoring 36 of the final 45 points before intermission. The almost clinical performance began with a 16-2 run that included eight points from Hayes, who sparked the decisive sequence with two free throws and a jumper in the paint.Hayes by himself had a 13-12 lead over the Wildcats with 1:30 to go.

”Just as a freshman, it’s scary what he can do in this league already,” Dekker said. ”We’re looking for big things from him.”

Duje Dukan’s layup with 28 seconds left sent the Badgers to the locker room with a 40-14 lead. Wisconsin had a dominant advantage in virtually every category at the break, shooting 59 percent with only one turnover and building a 20-10 rebound difference.Wisconsin’s start was so impressive that even the hard-charging Ryan seemed satisfied with the Badgers’ effort. He kept a close watch on the action from in front of the bench, but he seemed almost serene as his team picked apart the Wildcats.It was more of the same in the second half, with Jackson finding Dekker for a fast-break dunk that made it 49-20 with 14:40 left. NU forward Nikola Cerina left with an injury after Dekker’s jam. The 6-9 redshirt senior appeared to be favoring his right leg as he hobbled off the court.The Wildcats shot 34.5 percent (19 for 55) and their reserves managed just four points, compared to 32 for their counterparts on the Badgers.

”Certainly it was a tough night for us,” Northwestern coach Chris Collins said. ”Give a lot of credit to Wisconsin for that. I mean it was a great lesson for our guys.”

VALPARAISO—Keith Carter scored 19 points and LaVonte Dority added 14 with six assists to power Valparaiso past UIC 87-72 in a Horizon Conference opener for both teams Thursday night.The Crusaders (9-7, 1-0 Horizon) erased an eight-point halftime deficit and were within one midway through the second half. Dority drilled two free throws- the second putting Valparaiso on top- and Carter hit a layup and a 3-pointer to ignite a 19-6 run, pushing the lead to 77-65 with 4:24 remaining.UIC (5-10, 0-1) could only pull within ten the rest of the way, committing four turnovers in the final minutes.Valparaiso shot an efficient 57.4 percent from the field and hit ten 3-pointers. Lexus Williams scored 11 points and Jordan Coleman had 13 with six rebounds for the Crusaders.The Flames shot 50.9 percent but committed 26 fouls. Marc Brown paced UIC with 19 points and Kelsey Barlow added 13.

LAKE FOREST—With Jay Cutler‘s contract expiring and with the strong play of backup Josh McCown this season, it seemed likely the Bears would either franchise tag Cutler or let him go into the free agent market rather than pay him tens of millions of dollars on a long-term deal.Surprise! The Bears have done exactly that.General manager Phil Emery announced Thursday that the team has signed Cutler to a seven-year deal.

Foxsports.com’s Alex Marvez reports the first three years of Cutler’s deal average $18 million per season.Cutler played well this season under new coach Marc Trestman, but he also missed six games due to injury. In his place, McCown had the best season of his career, leading the Bears to a 3-2 record in his five starts while completing 66.5 percent of his passes for 13 touchdowns and just one interception.The thought was that instead of paying Cutler, say, the $20 million per year we assumed he’d want, the Bears would do well to pay McCown, say, $5 million per season and draft a quarterback this year in order to get him into the Trestman system.

But clearly, Emery and Trestman were impressed with Cutler. In fact, Emery said Cutler had his best season in 2013 because of his “leadership, his improvement, his display of toughness.” Emery also called Cutler “a demonstrated winner,” though it should be noted the team has been to the playoffs just once in Cutler’s five years with the team. Cutler also is 1-9 all-time vs. the Packers.The Bears also have room in their salary cap. According to Spotrac, the team, at this moment, has about $46 million in cap room for 2014 (CBSSport.com’s Joel Corry also wrote the Bears had one of the best salary-cap situations going into next year).

Paying Cutler about $16.2 million for a franchise tag next year would have hurt that figure, but with a long-term deal, the team has the ability to lessen that impact for the first few years of the deal.Cutler in November said he wouldn’t be insulted to receive the franchise tag.

“I’m not gonna take anything personally,” Cutler said. “If they want to franchise me, I’m gonna feel good about the situation we’re in.

“We’re gonna be in our second year of the offense with these guys. We’re gonna be better. I’m gonna be better. So it’s not personal. It’s business.”

That is a good point as well. Now that he’ll be entering his second season with Trestman, he should be even better in the West Coast-type offensive system. And with receivers Brandon Marshall and Alshon Jeffery, running back Matt Forte and tight end Martellus Bennett, the Bears offense should improve upon a unit that was ranked second in the league in scoring this season.

That could make for a scary Bears squad for opposing defenses.Along with the Cutler signing, the team also announced a four-year deal for cornerback Tim Jennings and guard Matt Slauson.

The Buccaneers aren’t wasting any time filling their coaching role and are close to finalizing a deal with Lovie Smith, CBS Sports NFL Insider Jason La Canfora reports.La Canfora reported two days ago that Smith was a top candidate for the job in Tampa and that former Buccaneers executive Rich McKay could be joining him.The Buccaneers have a hole at both coach and GM after firing Greg Schiano and Mark Dominik on Monday afternoon.Additionally, La Canfora reports Smith is expected to hire former Cal coach Jeff Tedford as his offensive coordinator in Tampa while former Vikings coach Leslie Frazier, who was canned by Minnesota on Monday, is the top choice to be Smith’s defensive coordinator.Smith, Jay Glazer of Fox Sports reports, “quietly interviewed” with the Buccaneers this week and the Glazer family liked him so much they moved quickly to ink a deal.Lovie was ousted by new Bears GM Phil Emery after winning 10 games in 2011 and replaced by Marc Trestman.During his nine years running the Bears, Smith went 81-63, winning three NFC North division titles, appearing in six playoff games(losing 3) and advancing to the Super Bowl once.

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (AP) Manny Arop scored 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds in leading Indiana State to its third straight win, a 70-58 victory in a Missouri Valley Conference opener against Loyola Wednesday.Arop made 7 of 15 attempts, including 3 of 6 3-pointers. Dawon Cummings added 10 points for the Sycamores (10-3), who didn’t match the Ramblers’ 50 percent shooting from the floor but equaled their number of field goals and had a big advantage at the free-throw line. The Sycamores made 15 of 23 from the line to the Ramblers’ 3 of 7.The Sycamores also had a 36-25 rebounding advantage, including 16-5 on the offensive boards.Christian Thomas made 8 of 12 field-goal attempts for 19 points and Cody Johnson 6 of 8 for 15 points for the Ramblers (5-7), who played their first MVC game since coming over from the Horizon League where they spent 34 seasons.

PASADENA—Connor Cook passed for a career-high 332 yards and hit Tony Lippett with a tiebreaking 25-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth quarter, leading No. 4 Michigan State to a 24-20 victory over No. 5 Stanford on Wednesday night in the 100th Rose Bowl.Cook also threw a TD pass to Trevon Pendleton, and Jeremy Langford rushed for 84 yards and a score in the first Rose Bowl victory in 26 years for the Big Ten champion Spartans (13-1), who finished the season with 10 straight wins.MSUs defense capped its dominant season with one more old-school, smash-mouth performance during the centennial celebration of the Granddaddy of Them All.

“It’s a special time for all Spartans, and we came here in force,” coach Mark Dantonio said. “I’m very happy for our football team, the resilience we showed all season long.”

The nation’s best defense ended it by stopping the Pac-12 champion Cardinal (11-3) on fourth-and-1 with 1:46 to play, utterly stuffing a run play up the middle. Kyler Elsworth, who started in place of suspended senior leader Max Bullough, hurdled the pile to deliver an electrifying, head-on hit to fullback Ryan Hewitt.

“When I saw their offensive linemen’s stance, I knew the way to make a play was to go over the top,” said Elsworth, selected the game’s defensive MVP.

Tyler Gaffney ran for 91 yards and an early TD for Stanford, and linebacker Kevin Anderson returned an interception 40 yards for a score late in the first half. But the Cardinal couldn’t follow up last season’s victory in Pasadena with back-to-back Rose Bowl wins, managing just three points from their offense after the first quarter.The Spartans have long labored in the shadow of Michigan and Ohio State, but coach Dantonio’s seven-year rebuilding project in East Lansing has put them on top of the Midwest this season with an unbeaten run through conference play.After knocking off the unbeaten Buckeyes in the league title game, Michigan State earned only the Big Ten’s second Rose Bowl win since 2000, even rallying from its first double-digit deficit of the entire season to do it.Cook led the way in his own inimitable fashion, making incredible plays and huge mistakes along the way. Along with his costly interception to Anderson, he also threw two passes that went through the hands of Cardinal defenders, and an interception in the third quarter was wiped out by a defensive holding call.But when the Spartans needed big plays in the second half, Cook repeatedly delivered, finishing 22 for 36.Kevin Hogan beat Wisconsin in last year’s Rose Bowl, but he couldn’t match Cook, going 10 for 18 for 143 yards and a key interception for Stanford.A mere 112 years after the game considered the first Rose Bowl was played in a park elsewhere in Pasadena, Stanford and Michigan State engaged in an old-fashioned slugfest in the venerable stadium that will host the BCS title game Monday night.Michigan State fans dominated the Rose Bowl grounds and stands, with about 70 percent wearing green in the crowd of 95,173 — the game’s largest turnout since 1998.After Tournament of Roses Parade grand marshal Vin Scully flipped the coin, Stanford started with a 77-yard drive culminating in Gaffney’s 16-yard TD run.Michigan State had never trailed by double digits all season long until Jordan Williamson’s field goal put Stanford up 10-0 late in the first quarter, but the Spartans finally connected with a 13-play, 75-yard drive culminating in Langford’s bounce outside for a 2-yard TD.The Spartans dominated the second quarter, but Cook handed seven points to the Cardinal shortly before halftime. With Usua Amanam bearing down on him unblocked, Cook inexplicably threw a soft looping pass directly to Anderson, who returned his first career interception untouched for a score — the first defensive touchdown allowed by Michigan State all season.A hush fell over the partisan crowd, but Cook responded with a stellar drive in the waning minutes, moving Michigan State 75 yards in 99 seconds and evading pursuit to deliver Pendleton’s 2-yard TD catch 28 seconds before halftime.The Spartans had every bit of momentum after Michael Geiger hit a tying field goal, Trae Waynes made a diving interception and the MSU defense stuffed Gaffney on a big fourth down. Stanford’s Shayne Skov forced a fumble by Langford inside the Cardinal 10 late in the third quarter, but Cook connected down the middle with Lippett for the go-ahead score early in the fourth.Stanford kicked a field goal with 5:05 left.

CHAMPAIGN—Indiana turned the ball over 23 times at Illinois on Saturday. Down the stretch, the Hoosiers could barely buy a point from the field.Yet at the end of overtime, there they were, hitting free throws and staying close.It wasn’t enough. The Hoosiers (10-4) lost their Big Ten Conference opener to the Illini, 83-80.But Indiana coach Tom Crean said he was proud of just how close his young team had come.

“We fought, we battled. And we just didn’t get the result at the end,” he said. “(Even) with the turnovers and things like that, we were still where we needed to be.”

But Illinois (12-2), playing in front of a loud, sometimes angry crowd, was too much. Ten months after knocking off then-No. 1 Indiana with a buzzer beater in Champaign, Ill., coach John Groce credited tight, scrappy defense for the win.

“We’ve got some tough dudes. We take a lot of pride in that,” Groce said. “But to (Indiana’s) credit, they do, too.”

Rayvonte Rice led Illinois with 29 points and Tracy Abrams added 17.Yogi Ferrell led Indiana with a game-high 30 points, and played 43 minutes, staying on the court through the overtime. Hoosiers freshman Noah Vonleh finished with 16 points and nine rebounds. But he fouled out near the end of overtime after sitting for a long stretch with four fouls.

“We took him out because we knew it was going to be a long overtime,” Crean said.

The game came down to free throws – some made, some misses – and the final half-minute of overtime was a wild scramble.

Jon Ekey stole a pass from Vonleh in the Indiana lane with 25 seconds to play and Illinois up 78-75. But Rice missed the free throws that resulted from the possession.

Rice fouled Will Sheehey at the other end, Sheehey sank both shots and Indiana was right back in it 78-77 with 22 seconds to play.But on the next possession Troy Williams fouled Nnanna Egwu, sending the 6-foot-11 center to the line.Egwu had been cold most of the afternoon, from anywhere on the court. That included a series of misses on long jumpers. He finished the game 3 of 11 from the field, including 0 of 5 on 3-point shots.But he sank the two free throws and gave the Illini a tiny bit of breathing room they made stick.Illinois never trailed in the overtime, and held the Hoosiers to a single field goal, a 3-pointer by Ferrell with 4 seconds to play that pulled them to within a point, 81-80. But, forced to foul, Indiana had to hope the Illini would go cold.Rice drew the foul, hit his final free throws and sealed the win. He said the free throws he’d just missed didn’t affect him when he returned to the line.

“It’s just mental,” he said. “Just go up there and knock them down.”

Rice, a Champaign native who transferred from Drake and sat out last season, said toughness and gritty defense are things Groce has preached.

“Coach emphasized that from the first day,” he said. “Just giving the extra effort, being tough.”

One play late in the first half illustrated the degree to which Rice adds to that toughness for Illinois.Tied at 36, Indiana moved up court, settling in to look for the final shot of the half.But Rice cut off a pass, stealing the ball and driving for a layup. Rice was fouled by a stunned-looking Sheehey, and grinned big before he went to the line, hit the free throw and put Illinois back on top, 39-36 with 28 seconds left.But, as Groce said, Indiana brought its own grit to the game.When the Hoosiers went the other way, it was Sheehey who buried a 3-pointer for a 39-39 halftime tie.

“We fought like crazy,” Crean said, noting that the Illini just fought a little harder, winning loose balls and creating opportunities. “That kind of hustle and effort and intensity is going to carry them a long way.”

WASHINGTON—Markel Starks was aggressive on offense throughout the Georgetown Hoyas‘ New Year’s Eve game against DePaul.When the Hoyas were sluggish in the first half, he kept them in it. When they pulled ahead to stay after intermission, he led the way.Starks scored 21 points and D’Vauntes Smith-Rivera added 12 as Georgetown defeated the Blue Demons 61-54 Tuesday in the Big East opener for both teams.

”I think that opportunities presented themselves and I took advantage them,” Starks said after finishing two points shy of his career high.

In addition to his scoring, Starks played the role of motivator, getting his teammates and the crowd engaged in what was an uneventful game early on.

”We needed to win. We went through a couple lapses, and we just can’t have that,” he said. ”I try to do both: motivate my teammates as well as perform on the court.”

Billy Garrett Jr. led DePaul (8-6) with 17 and Brandon Young scored 13.The Hoyas have won eight of nine and it was their 13th straight win against the Blue Demons.DePaul led by as many as eight in the first half, and were within six several times in the final minutes. They shot 32.7 percent (18 of 55) and turned the ball over 18 times.

”I told the guys this is the way it’s going to be on the road in the Big East, and we need to do a better job of taking care of the basketball clearly,” DePaul coach Oliver Purnell said.

The Hoyas (9-3) were up by four at intermission and led 40-31 after Smith-Rivera’s driving layup with 15:28 to play.Young’s 3-pointer pulled DePaul to within 40-38, but Georgetown scored three quick points and maintained a slim lead past the midway point of the second half.With the Hoyas ahead 45-42, Starks scored on a fast-break layup following a steal and Georgetown scored nine straight – six by Starks – to open a 12-point lead with 5:24 left.The Blue Demons made just 13 of 26 free throws, and missed 10 of 16 in the second half, in their lowest-scoring game of the season.

”I thought we just shot ourselves in the foot time and time again at the line, not making the game much closer,” Purnell said. ”(We) had chances to go to the line and really tighten things up. I thought they had trouble guarding us, and they were fouling us.”

The Georgetown-DePaul matchup was one of five opening-day games for the reconfigured Big East Conference. Seven Big East schools formed a basketball-only league and added Xavier, Butler and Creighton.DePaul started 1 of 10 from the field, but Georgetown went nearly 5 minutes without a point and led just 13-8 after Starks 3-pointer with 9:28 left.The Blue Demons took the lead, 14-13, when Young inbounded the ball off a Hoya, grabbed it and made the layup.Georgetown remained cold and Cleveland Melvin’s dunk capped a 10-0 run that gave DePaul a 20-13 lead at the 4:57 mark.After switching out of it early, Georgetown coach John Thompson III went back to his 1-2-2 zone press, which sparked a rally.

”We started off in (the 1-2-2) and it wasn’t effective, and we came back to it and it got our juices flowing a little bit,” Thompson said. ”It was key, we went from down eight or nine until Aaron Bowen hit that shot at the buzzer and we went up four and our press had a lot to do with that.I thought it was effective throughout the game, to tell you the truth. I don’t think we went on that much of a run in the second half, but we still had a few turnovers and it kept them on their heels a little bit.”

The Hoyas went on 14-2 run to intermission.

”We certainly were ready for the 1-2-2 as well as the 2-2-1, but the 1-2-2 did give us some problems,” Purnell said. ”(I’m) disappointed with the 18 turnovers, that 1-2-2 had a lot to do with it.”

Bowen ended the half when he grabbed a loose ball and hit a turnaround jumper from beyond the arc at the buzzer to make it 29-25.

”On the last shot, we had a chance to get that rebound, we didn’t get it. They made a 3. I thought that was a big basket,” Purnell said.

The teams combined for 25 first-half turnovers, and Starks had 11 points in the first 20 minutes.Georgetown plays host to St. John’s on Saturday and DePaul travels to Marquette.