Bulls rediscover defense

After a slow start to the first half, the Bulls corrected a couple of recent problems - bad defense and lack of home victories - during Wednesday's 105-80 victory over Brooklyn at the United Center.

The Bulls trailed by 11 points in the first quarter and the score was tied 51-51 at halftime. In the second half, the Nets scored just 39 points and shot 26 percent from the field.

Of course, this was a Nets team missing three starters - Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson and Mirza Teletovic. It will be a much greater challenge on Friday when the Bulls host Portland. But at least they improved their home record to 3-5.

Derrick Rose seemed to get his legs back while scoring a game-high 23 points. He had a stretch in the second quarter when he scored three times in a row on drives to the basket. He dropped in a couple of 3-pointers late in the game, just to prove he's still multidimensional.

Taj Gibson started in place of Joakim Noah, who sat out to rest a sprained right ankle. In his second game back after missing six with his own ankle injury, Gibson provided a spark with 6 blocked shots, to go with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Pau Gasol finished with 16 points and 16 boards.

For much more on this game from Mike McGraw, check back later.