Bulls Team Report

GETTING INSIDE

If there were a particular low point during the Bulls’ recent 2-11 lull, it would have been the 35-point loss in Atlanta on Dec. 9.

Actually, the 32-point home defeat against Toronto and a loss at the United Center to a 1-19 New Jersey team were pretty bad, too.

Whatever the low point, the Bulls appear to be heading in the right direction. They built a meager two-game winning streak on Saturday, and they did it by avenging the previous loss to the Hawks and recovering from a nine-point deficit in the final 4:12 of regulation.

Guard Derrick Rose(notes), who scored 32 points against Atlanta, got the feeling in practice that the Bulls were getting their act together.

“I told you in practice we’ve been playing hard,” Rose said. “We knew coming into this game we had a chance of winning just by us practicing the way we were practicing. Everybody’s just focused now, and it seems like everybody’s on the right page.”

The Bulls will complete a season-high six-game homestand by hosting Sacramento on Monday. Chicago pulled out a relatively easy 110-87 road win against the Kings back on Nov. 17.

But Sacramento has been one of the league’s minor surprises, improving its record to 12-14 with a last-second victory at Milwaukee on Saturday. The Kings won just 17 games last season.

This will mark the first United Center appearance in an enemy uniform for forward Andres Nocioni(notes), who came over from Spain to sign with the Bulls as a free agent in 2004. He was sent to the Kings last Feb. 18 and is certain to get a nice ovation at his former home.

Bulls 101, Hawks 98  (OT): The Bulls erased a nine-point deficit in the final 4:12 of regulation and earned an overtime victory on Saturday at the United Center. It was a satisfying win for the Bulls, considering they lost in Atlanta by 35 points on Dec. 9.

Guard Joe Johnson(notes) poured in 40 points for the Hawks, but guard Derrick Rose stepped up with 32 points of his own, the best regular-season effort of his NBA career. Guard John Salmons(notes) (16 points) hit the Bulls’ biggest shot of overtime, a corner 3-pointer that broke a 94-94 tie with 2:21 remaining. Johnson missed a driving bank shot with about 13 seconds left while the Hawks trailed by one.

NOTES, QUOTES

• G John Salmons has been shooting poorly all season, but he endured a particularly rough two-game stretch against the Lakers and Celtics recently, scoring a combined six points. One question heading into this season was whether Salmons could match the career-best 18.3 points per game he produced last year. So far, he hasn’t, and it’s been a challenge for the soft-spoken and spiritual Salmons. He has two young children at home, which has helped take his mind off the basketball struggles.

“It’s definitely been tough. It’s not easy dealing with stuff like that,” he said. “I’m just trying to look to God, give him all the praise, and hopefully he’ll come through. That’s what he did today.”

• G Derrick Rose needed a painkilling shot to get through the Dec. 15 game against the Lakers. He survived Thursday’s win over New York without one, then scored a season-high 32 points two days later against Atlanta. Rose pulled a muscle in his side about three weeks ago and aggravated the injury against the Lakers.

“It feels kind of weird, but it’s just a regular injury,” Rose said. “You’ve just got to fight through it. I want to win, so I didn’t really care how much it hurt. I was going to go out there and play. It kind of tightened up a little bit in the beginning of the (New York) game, but I got some treatment on the side, got some heat on it, and it was fine.”

Quote To Note:   “If we lock down like we did in the fourth quarter, toward the end of the game to come back, that will give us a chance every night. If we can consistently do that and bring energy, maybe we can turn the season around.”—G John Salmons, after the Bulls rallied from a late nine-point deficit to beat Atlanta in overtime Saturday.

ROSTER REPORT

Rotation:   Starters—Point guard Derrick Rose, Shooting guard John Salmons, Small forward Luol Deng(notes), Power forward Brad Miller(notes), Center Joakim Noah(notes). Bench—Guard Jannero Pargo(notes), Guard Kirk Hinrich(notes), Guard Lindsey Hunter(notes), Forward James Johnson(notes), Forward Taj Gibson(notes), Center Aaron Gray(notes).

Player Notes:  

• F Luol Deng has thoroughly filled up the stat sheet during the Bulls’ two-game winning streak. He finished with 24 points and 13 rebounds against New York on Thursday, then followed with 21 points, 12 boards and six assists in the overtime victory over Atlanta two days later. After recovering from a stress fracture in his leg during the offseason, Deng is having an impressive year, averaging 18.0 points and 8.1 rebounds.

• G John Salmons had hit just three of his last 18 attempts from 3-point range before knocking down a tiebreaking 3-pointer during overtime against Atlanta on Saturday. For the season, he’s shooting 32.1 percent from behind the 3-point arc.

• F Tyrus Thomas(notes) was expected to resume practice Sunday, more than six weeks after he suffered a broken left arm during a weight room accident at the Berto Center on Nov. 5. The likely target for Thomas returning to game action is Dec. 26, when the Bulls host New Orleans.

Medical Watch:  

• F Tyrus Thomas (broken left arm) had a metal plate used to repair the break during surgery on Nov. 7. He is expected to return to practice Dec. 20.

• C Jerome James(notes) (torn right Achilles) hasn’t played since early last season when he was with the Knicks. No one is counting any contributions from him, but he’s vowed to get healthy and play sometime this season. He’s starting to run again, but he needs to pass a fitness test before he’d be allowed to practice.