No tongue-lashing from Thibodeau at halftime

The Pacers turned the tables on a Bulls' specialty, piling up a 15-2 advantage in second-chance points during Monday's first half. The rebounding helped Indiana erase an early 17-point deficit.

After the game, reporters were wondering if coach Tom Thibodeau got particularly upset at halftime, since he seemed agitated on the way off the court.

“It wasn't as bad as everyone thought it would be,” Taj Gibson said. “I think it was a lot worse during the Cleveland game. He just talked calmly about doing your job. We have a good rebounding team, just go out there and do what you do and rebound the ball.”

Joakim Noah pointed to a general rule of thumb when it comes to Thibodeau's speeches.

“Thibs is usually right,” Noah said. “Even though sometimes you don't want to hear it, Thibs is usually right. He knows what he's talking about. He's somebody who's been in a championship locker room (with Boston) before and that means a lot. He's been there and knows what it takes.”

Pacers preach defense:

The Pacers haven't produced a winning season since 2004-05, so this year's 11-12 record qualifies as an improvement. But coach Jim O'Brien thinks his team should have more wins, based on its defensive success.

Heading into Monday's action, Indiana ranked second in the league in defensive field-goal percentage at .428. Miami was first in the category, with the Bulls sixth.

“Our guys aren't too happy to be 11-11 right now, frankly,” O'Brien said before the contest. “When you're one or two in the league in field-goal defense, you should be better. The other eight teams that are in the top nine, their record is something like 125-50.”

Asked how the Pacers got better on defense, O'Brien suggested, “Four years of drilling and pushing our guys to become a better defensive team.”

Dental work for Deng:

Luol Deng is planning to have the rest of his cracked wisdom tooth pulled Thursday. He broke the tooth in a collision with Lakers guard Kobe Bryant last Friday.

Deng said they wanted to wait until the team had two days off to do the procedure. He didn't want any side effects to keep him sidelined for a game.

Rose stays warm:

Derrick Rose made a very smart decision Sunday. After toying with the idea of attending the Bears-Patriots game, he decided against it. Even though he had access to a luxury suite, the snow, cold and wind were a deterrent.

“I didn't even walk my dogs Sunday,” Rose joked.