Noah, Rose play extraminutes as Bulls top Toronto

Joakim Noah mentioned last weekend that his legs felt heavy, the result of a grueling start to training camp after a summer spent resting his foot injury.

Coach Tom Thibodeau must have been listening, because Tuesday night's preseason skirmish with Toronto turned into “Get Joakim in Shape Night.

Noah played a whopping 40 minutes as the Bulls delivered a 102-84 victory over a Raptors team that figures to be looking for its Chris Bosh replacement in next year's draft lottery.

“I don't feel I'm where I need to be, Noah said after the game. “I understand I'm going to be playing a lot, especially early.

Noah made the most of his extended playing time, nearly producing a triple-double. He finished with 16 points, 14 rebounds and 8 assists.

Thibodeau had an explanation for why Noah played so much. He wants to see how well Noah can handle playing power forward since Carlos Boozer is sidelined by a broken hand. Thibodeau likes the look of Noah playing next to 7-foot rookie Omer Asik.

“I thought this was a great game for him because of his defensive responsibilities he would have on (Toronto's Andrea) Bargnani, Thibodeau said. “I wanted to get a look at him guarding a range-shooting four.

“Because to me, that's the big test when you ask the question, ‘Can (Noah) play the four?' He probably played a few minutes more than I would have liked, but I wanted to see that matchup.

Noah seemed to fare well against the 7-foot Bargnani, who hit just 3 of 9 shots from the field. Former Phoenix guard Leandro Barbosa led Toronto with 20 points.

Derrick Rose also got a regular-season-style run, logging 36 minutes while piling up 23 points and 7 assists. Rose claimed his extended minutes were by request.

“I told him I have to get my rhythm back, because I don't play pickup ball during the summer, Rose said. “Getting all my timing back is helping me.

Luol Deng added 13 points for the Bulls, C.J. Watson scored 12 and Ronnie Brewer had 4 points in his preseason debut. Toronto doesn't have the most physical front line in the NBA, but the Bulls (2-2) did roll up an impressive 44-22 rebound advantage.

Asik turned in another strong performance against the Raptors with 9 points, 8 rebounds and 3 blocks in just under 20 minutes.

Besides clogging the lane, Asik has been adept at getting to the foul line. He has shot 17 free throws in four preseason games and only made 7, but he went 3-for-4 against Toronto.

“He's doing a lot of things that can really help our team, Noah said of Asik. “He's very good at plugging down the middle. I think his best asset is he wants to learn, wants to get better.

“You can't teach that size he has. That's a big body, and he can really move for his size.