Chicago Bulls Notes, Quotes 2009-01-08 News Chicago Bulls

--Forward Drew Gooden returned Tuesday against Sacramento after missing eight games with a sprained right ankle. He didn't shoot all that well (4-for-11), but managed to post 18 points and 10 rebounds in just under 33 minutes of action. Late in the fourth quarter, Gooden slammed home a missed shot by Derrick Rose and hit 6-of-8 free throws down the stretch. "I felt a little out of sync offensively," he said. "I was this close to telling Coach to come get me. But I knew the timeout was coming, so I just sucked it up for another minute and got my wind back on the bench. But I felt good out there."

--After piling up a career-high eight blocked shots last Saturday against Minnesota, forward Tyrus Thomas revealed that one of his aspirations is to become a contender for the NBA's defensive player of the year award. "I actually would love to be that one day," he said. "That's something I take pride in, because everybody can't get up and block a shot. I've become more disciplined at not trying to block every shot like I used to. Because it kind of puts my teammates in bad situations if I don't get it."

QUOTE TO NOTE: "Sometimes you need a little luck to go your way. We still don't have our energy. Right now, for whatever reason, we're not crisp and that has to get better." -- Coach Vinny Del Negro, after the Bulls hung on to beat Sacramento 99-94 on Tuesday.