Bulls' basket empty in 103-98 loss to Mavericks

The Bulls definitely have won enough hustle points to sit within shouting distance of a .500 record.

In their past three games, for example, the Bulls have built an enormous 60-24 advantage on the offensive boards.

They could use a few more of those points awarded after the ball actually falls through the basket, however. Even though the final score was respectable due to a late rally, the Bulls' shooting woes were worse than ever in Monday night's 103-98 loss to the Dallas Mavericks at the United Center.

At the end of the third quarter, the Bulls were shooting an abysmal 28.2 percent. Subs Andres Nocioni and Chris Duhon had outscored the Bulls' entire starting lineup by themselves 28-23.

Check out these shooting lines through three quarters: Luol Deng 2 of 11, Kirk Hinrich 1 of 9, Ben Gordon 3 of 15, Ben Wallace 2 of 9. In the first half, Deng was outscored by Dallas counterpart Josh Howard 21-2.

The Bulls probably missed a dozen layups or tip-ins right at the basket.

"We need to find a way to make pro layups," coach Scott Skiles said. "We've got to be able to go in there, in traffic, and either finish or get fouled, and we've really struggled to do that."

This was the start of a tough week for the Bulls, which looks even more ominous considering their 4-11 record. They leave today for a two-game trip to Charlotte and Detroit, then host red-hot Boston on Saturday.

In a rare move, Skiles changed the lineup to open the second half, starting Duhon and rookie Joakim Noah in place of Hinrich and Tyrus Thomas. After playing the first seven minutes, Thomas never returned.

"We were just trying to mix it up, see if we could find something that would work," Skiles said. "We had our normal preparation for Dallas and at the beginning of the game, it was like we hadn't prepared at all. We were just very sleepy out there."

Nocioni finished with 30 points, 1 short of his career-high. Hinrich came alive late to score 14 of his 18 points in the fourth quarter. Hinrich had only scored 14 in a full game five times in the Bulls' first 14 contests.

Skiles admitted after the game that he will consider making another change in the starting lineup, but he is as puzzled as anyone else by his team's horrible shooting.

"Obviously, I don't want that to happen," Hinrich said when asked if he's prepared to come off the bench. "I want to stay in the lineup. Whatever happens, happens. Right now, we're struggling as a team."

Here's an example of how things went for the Bulls: After falling behind 22-10 in the first quarter, Nocioni single-handedly brought the home team back, hitting 3 straight 3-pointers, plus 3 free throws after being fouled behind the arc -- all in a span of 2:40.

Dallas couldn't slow down Nocioni, but he was taken out by his own teammate early in the second quarter.

With the Bulls trailing 32-30, Nocioni had his arm extended on defense while guarding Brandon Bass away from the ball. Bulls guard Thabo Sefolosha decided to run in between the two players and bumped Nocioni's right elbow.

Nocioni grabbed his arm in obvious pain and retreated to the locker room. He returned to the court about seven minutes later, but by then the Bulls trailed by 9.