Noah, Bulls can't contain Hawks' Horford (27 points)

With Drew Gooden sidelined for a second straight game by a sprained ankle, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro gave Joakim Noah his first start of the season, thinking maybe an old college connection could help the home team.

"He knows (Atlanta power forward Al) Horford really well," Del Negro said. "He's been playing, giving us some good energy. I thought it was a good matchup for us. We'll see how it works."

Noah and Horford were teammates at Florida, helping lead the Gators to a pair of national titles in 2006 and 2007. They weren't equals on Tuesday, though, as Horford abused the Bulls for a career-high 27 points and 17 rebounds. He repeatedly beat the Bulls big men down the court for easy baskets.

"(Noah) has to get in better condition," Del Negro said. "He knows that and we've talked about it. He just has to keep on working."

Rose makes ballot: Rookie guard Derrick Rose was given a spot on the all-star ballot, joining Bulls teammates Ben Gordon, Luol Deng and Andres Nocioni. Rose in one of five rookies on the ballot. The others are Miami's Michael Beasley, Memphis' O.J. Mayo, Minnesota's Kevin Love and last year's No. 1 pick, Greg Oden from Portland.

Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro doesn't have a problem with unproven rookies becoming all-star nominees.

"I think it's fine if he deserves it," Del Negro said. "You go out there and you perform and you help your team win and play at a high level, then you should get recognized for that."

Ruffin still not ready: Nearly six weeks have passed since Michael Ruffin suffered a sprained ankle on the second day of training camp, and the power forward has yet to return to practice. Ruffin admitted Tuesday that the injury affected his Achilles as well as the ankle on his left leg.

"It was just kind of one of those freak accidents in practice," Ruffin said. "I rolled my ankle over and I guess it was so bad, I kind of sprained my ankle and Achilles a little bit at the same time. It's just taking time, but it's definitely getting better. I feel like I'm getting close."

Hinrich has surgery: Kirk Hinrich had surgery to repair the torn ulnar collateral ligament of his right thumb Tuesday morning. The procedure was performed by Drs. John Fernandez and Mark Cohen at Rush University Medical Center. Hinrich is expected to miss 12 weeks.