Maybe it was a long way to go for a single preseason game, but when the Bulls returned to practice at the Berto Center on Friday, most raved about how much fun they had on the London trip.

"It was definitely cool, even though it was short," Joakim Noah said.

The game itself obviously went well, with the Bulls pulling out a 102-101 victory over the Utah Jazz when rookie James Johnson grabbed an offensive rebound and drained a 17-foot jumper at the buzzer.

While the Bulls' celebration on the court might have been borderline excessive for a preseason game, it offered a nice chance for the players to pull closer together, though.

Noah said the Bulls capped off the exciting win with a night on the town in London with most everyone on the team in tow.

"We had a good time after the game. That's the first time that's even happened since I've been here," Noah said. "It's always good to do things together like that. Our team chemistry is great. We've been having a great time together."

Several other Bulls mentioned the interaction with teammates as a highlight of the trip.

"It was a good experience being with the guys," guard Jannero Pargo said. "We got to play around with each other and get to know each other better."

"I'd have to say just hanging with my teammates was the best part, and seeing London, how old the city is," added Derrick Rose. "I drove around with (agent) B.J. (Armstrong), saw the smallest house in London. It was like three feet wide."

Several players enjoyed attending soccer games. Noah joined London native Luol Deng and others in a private suite at the Arsenal-Blackburn match. Rose visited the Chelsea-Liverpool game as part of an NBA promotional stop.

"Lu definitely did a good job looking out for us," Noah said.

As far as seeing the sights, the players were on their own and didn't have an abundance of free time.

"Everyone did their own thing," Deng said. "We only had Monday and I went to see my family."

"The best thing I did was take a trip to go shopping," Pargo said. "It gave me a chance to interact with the people over there - cabdrivers, people on the street. I asked their opinion of people from the U.S and got the impression they don't think too highly of us in London."

Was Pargo able to win over the hearts and minds of any Londoners?

"I tried to be myself and be the nice person I am," he said. "I'm sure I'm not going to change their opinion, but maybe let them see there are good people all over the world."

Adjusting to the time change and getting back on the floor for a nearly three-hour practice Friday was a challenge. But it sounds as though the London trip was a successful team-building exercise.

"It was a lot of fun," Rose said. "I was surprised they know so much about basketball over there. The Bulls fan base is crazy over there because of Lu. I appreciate that."