Noah grabs 17 rebounds in win over Bucks

MILWAUKEE — The Milwaukee Bucks are offensively challenged but coached by Scott Skiles, so there was probably no way for the Bulls to avoid an ugly, slow-moving contest Saturday.

If the visitors closed their eyes, though, they may have felt the comfort of home. This game was billed as a sellout and the crowd was decidedly pro-Bulls, chanting “MVP” at Derrick Rose from the opening tip.

The Bulls also took a trip back in time, to when center Joakim Noah was healthy and playing at his usual revved-up pace.

In just his third game back after more than two months off with a thumb injury, Noah grabbed 17 rebounds to help lead the Bulls to an 83-75 victory at the Bradley Center.

“We have a monster inside. When he's like that, we're unbelievable,” teammate Carlos Boozer said of Noah. “We're happy to see him getting his groove back.”

At the start of the game, Noah played as if he were wearing kangaroo shoes, collecting 9 offensive boards and 13 overall in the first half. The Bulls matched a season high with 28 second-chance points.

“Noah had 9 offensive rebounds in the first half. I don't know if I've ever seen that,” Skiles said. “I didn't play with Wilt (Chamberlain).”

Noah's conditioning is obviously getting better. He had to take a short rest in the first half because backup Omer Asik picked up 2 quick fouls. In his three games back, Noah increased his playing time from 24 to 27 and now 33 minutes.

“I feel like the more I'm out there on the court, the better my wind's going to be,” Noah said. “My timing is still off. I feel like I can still get better; there are still some things I can do a lot better. I'm not a player who's satisfied. I'm just going to keep working, keep grinding, because I feel like we can do some good things.”

The Bulls (40-17) actually had a rough first quarter, allowing Milwaukee to shoot 58 percent from the field. They trailed by as many as 7 points as unheralded forward Luc Richard Mbah a Moute (16 points) had a hot hand early.

The defense kicked in when the reserves took the court at the start of the second quarter. The Bucks (22-36) shot 31.6 percent over the final three quarters while scoring 50 points.

“We're still a work in progress,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I think the 30 games (Noah) missed, our defense went to a different level, because guys became more familiar with it. Now we're going through an adjustment period, but while we're going through that, we can't allow our defense to slide.”

The Bulls turned the game around with a 25-7 run in the third quarter. They led 70-59 heading into the fourth and even though Milwaukee closed within 6 points after a flurry of 3-pointers, the outcome was never in much doubt.

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 19 points. Rose was almost disappointing with 17 points and 4 assists, but his heroics weren't needed.

“We're finally getting in a rhythm where everybody's back,” Rose said. “Joakim is back playing great. Booz is playing great. I think we're playing great as a team. We're moving the ball. The more we get to play with each other, I think the better we're going to get.”