Deng may miss game vs. Sixers

Luol Deng was feeling positive about his recovery from left Achilles' tendinitis.

The Bulls' second-leading scorer participated in about half of Thursday's practice after sitting out the previous two games.

But when reminded how he was bouncing his shots off the front rim during his previous game action against Portland last week, Deng made an admission.

"I didn't make any jump shots. The whole practice I didn't score today," he said with a laugh. "I think I went 0-for-5 or 6. But I really didn't care. (The injury) is going to bother me a little bit, but hopefully I'll be out there competing and forget about it and just play."

As far as whether he will be able to play tonight in Philadelphia, Deng was hopeful but suggested it's possible he will sit one more game and return Sunday in Atlanta.

"I don't think I'm far away," he said. "I really want to play. (Trainer) Fred (Tedeschi) thinks maybe one more day. But we'll just see how it feels. I'll try to do shootaround with the guys and see how it feels."

Falling short on his jump shots last week seemed to be an indication Deng wasn't getting his usual lift off the ground.

"Just pushing off a little bit bothered me (in practice)," Deng said. "I played live, kind of got in a rhythm a little bit and forgot about it. I don't think when I come back it will be 100 percent, but it will be close."

Deng also mentioned that he believes the Achilles' problem is a byproduct of a sore back that has bothered him off and on this season. He has missed five games due to the injuries after playing in all 82 last year.

Sick days over: Andres Nocioni and Kirk Hinrich were back at practice Thursday after staying home sick the previous day.

Nocioni talked about his struggle to get through 16 minutes of playing time Tuesday against New York.

"We knew Luol Deng was not playing, so I needed to step up and try to play, but I didn't play well," Nocioni said. "Sometimes I hurt my team on the court because I couldn't play with my energy or my intensity.

"It was really bad, because my body was really sore. I had pain in all my joints, my knees, my ankles. It was unbelievable. I'm pretty much better now."

Scoring on the rise: For a long time this season, the Bulls were last in the league in scoring, field-goal percentage and 3-point percentage.

They still are last in shooting percentage (.418) but have risen to 25th in scoring average at 94.0. The Bulls have averaged 103.6 points since Jim Boylan became head coach, though that figure has been inflated by two overtime games.

Here's a stat to keep in mind heading into tonight's meeting with Philadelphia: Both the Bulls and the Sixers are 0-13 when allowing more than 100 points.

Tonight's tipoff

Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers at the Wachovia Center, 6 p.m.

TV: Comcast SportsNet

Radio: WMVP 1000-AM

Update: The Bulls' problems began at the home opener Nov. 2, when point guard Andre Miller poured in 25 points and the 76ers claimed a 96-85 victory. The Sixers (14-22) have been up and down. They started 5-13, then won nine of 13 before losing the last five.

Players to watch: Springfield native Andre Iguodala leads Philadelphia at 19.0 points per game, followed by Miller at 16.2. The Sixers recently sent 3-point specialist Kyle Korver to Utah for SG Gordan Giricek.

Next: Atlanta Hawks at Philips Arena, 1 p.m. Sunday

-- Mike McGraw