Hunter logs big minutes in loss at Milwaukee

One surprising development during Monday's loss in Milwaukee was 22 minutes off the bench from veteran guard Lindsey Hunter.

Hunter, who turns 39 on Thursday, scored 5 points and hit just 2 of 9 shots from the field. But the Bulls seemed to play better when he was on the floor. Hunter finished with the best plus-minus of any Bulls player against the Bucks, with a plus-6.

"I thought Lindsey was doing such a good job out there with his defensive assignment," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I just thought we had good momentum there, so I wanted to stay with it."

Asked what he did to help the team, Hunter gave a nonspecific answer.

"Just make basketball plays," he said. "The game tells you what to do. If it tells you to take a shot, you've got to take a shot. If we get a break, push it. If we don't, get into a set. Make sure the ball moves, hit the open guy.

"You've got to do those little things and eventually the offense will start flowing."

Kirk Hinrich is expected to miss the rest of the week with a sprained left thumb, leaving Hunter and Jannero Pargo as the team's two reserve guards.

Noah blames self: Joakim Noah seemed to blame himself for Milwaukee center Andrew Bogut piling up 22 points and 15 rebounds in Monday's 99-97 loss to the Bucks.

"I have to do a better job of guarding my player," Noah said after the game. "I feel like the bigs are getting their way offensively against us. We've just got to find a way to do a better job. My post defense is suspect right now."

During the circus road trip, several opposing big men had huge games against the Bulls, such as the Lakers' Pau Gasol, Utah's Carlos Boozer and Portland's Greg Oden.

But many of Bogut's points came while Noah was on the bench with 2 fouls in the first half.

"No question, there's a lot of expectations for Jo," coach Vinny Del Negro said Tuesday. "I think he's done a tremendous job overall.

"I thought he got worn down a little bit on the West Coast trip. Last night I thought Bogut got to the middle a little too easy.

"But I thought in the second half, he really picked up his game, gave us great energy. We also have to get Tyrus (Thomas) back and get some help on the front line. Other guys have to help him out. It's a team defense; it's not 1-on-1."

Bringing sexy home: The Bulls haven't been shut out completely during their five-game losing streak. They were named Chicago's sexiest team and Derrick Rose sexiest athlete in a contest sponsored by Victoria's Secret.

"It's pretty high (on my list of accomplishments)," Rose said. "It's something I'll be telling my kids, plus my nieces and nephews about - when I'm old and wrinkled."

Reporters were eager for Joakim Noah to chime in on the subject, but he passed.

"We just lost six in a row," he said. "It's not about sexiness right now."

Actually, it's five in a row. It just seems like six.