Wallace sits but doesn't stew

Crunch-time minutes were no factor in Saturday's blowout loss to Toronto, since the Bulls were down by at least 30 for most of the fourth quarter.

But they were on Thursday when the Bulls beat Detroit while center Ben Wallace sat for the final 14 minutes of the contest.

Whenever that happens, people are bound to think back to the 2006 Eastern Conference finals, when Wallace was angry about sitting out the fourth quarter of a series-ending loss to Miami, and wonder if he has similar sentiments when it happens again.

Wallace's fractured relationship with Pistons coach Flip Saunders is often mentioned as a reason he jumped to the Bulls as a free agent the following summer. Of course, the $60 million contract was a major factor.

Bulls coach Scott Skiles was asked his view of that issue before Saturday's loss.

"First of all, I don't think he does hate Flip. That's the first thing," Skiles said. "I don't get caught up in that B.S. I'm going to coach every game to win the game. Whoever I think is out there can help us win the game, I'm going to have them out there to win the game. Period. That's my job. That's what I owe to the team."

Wallace didn't complain about Thursday's late-game bench time and acknowledged there's a big difference between Game 5 of the regular season and Game 6 of the conference finals.

"Of course, it upset me to sit out in the Miami series and watch my teammates go out there and try to fight while I'm on the sidelines," he said. "I want to be out there every minute I can possibly be out there.

"Like I say, there are guys on this team that work just as hard as I work and they deserve the opportunity. When I'm on the bench and they're out there, all I can do is cheer for them and wish them well."

Sefolosha shows signs: The Bulls can only hope Thabo Sefolosha has worked his way out of an early-season slump. After missing his first 7 shots on Saturday, Sefolosha was shooting an even 10 percent (2-for-20) on the season. He did come back to hit 4 of 8 shots in the fourth quarter.

Bull horns: Rookie Aaron Gray scored his first NBA basket with 3:22 remaining in Saturday's game. … Joakim Noah has yet to record a field goal in three games, going 0-for-7 from the field … Viktor Khryapa made his season debut and scored 7 points. … In Toronto's 2 victories over Philadelphia and the Bulls this weekend, Naperville native Anthony Parker scored a combined 34 points and was 6 of 9 from 3-point range.