--C Joakim Noah posted a career-high 19 points on Wednesday and led the Bulls in scoring for the first time in his two seasons with the team. Noah was faced with the tough task of trying to slow down Orlando C Dwight Howard and managed to hold his own with a lot of hustle, though the Bulls were never really in the game. Howard collected 15 points and 14 rebounds while playing only 29 minutes.

--G Derrick Rose played 27 minutes in Wednesday's loss to the Magic and scored 11 points, but failed to collect a single assist. After two strong games in a row, Rose's jumper was off target and he didn't try to attack the basket very often.

--G Larry Hughes was the first Bulls player to get his jump shot going during Wednesday's loss to Orlando. The entire team tossed up bricks in the first half before Hughes scored 13 of his 15 points in the third quarter.

MEDICAL WATCH:

--F Luol Deng (ankle) expects to be out at least a week after turning his ankle in the third quarter of Friday's loss to Miami. He jumped to block a shot and landed awkwardly on his left foot.

--F Drew Gooden (ankle) left the Dec. 19 game against Boston midway through the first quarter after twisting his ankle while jumping for a rebound. There is a chance he may be back by Friday's game in Cleveland.

--G Kirk Hinrich (torn ulnar collateral ligament in right thumb) had surgery Nov. 11 after hurting the thumb while trying to swipe the ball out of Amare Stoudemire's grasp in a win over Phoenix on Nov. 7. Hinrich said the injury is healing ahead of schedule and he should be back sooner than the original projection of mid-February.

--F Michael Ruffin (sprained left ankle) has been sidelined since the second day of training camp. After being released and re-signed, he has been inactive for every game in the regular season. He returned to practice on Dec. 10.