MILWAUKEE -- Boston coach Glenn "Doc" Rivers issued a warning about the potential of the Chicago Bulls when the teams met a month ago that pretty much fell on deaf ears.
Rivers offered a reminder after Chicago's victory over the Celtics last week.
"I said that then and I don't think anyone heard it," said Rivers. "You lose a (Ben) Gordon and that takes awhile to get used to, especially at the end of games. Tyrus Thomas was out, (Kirk) Hinrich had been out, and (Derrick) Rose was injured in training camp.
"They've got all their guys back and they'll keep getting better once their continuity gets better and they play more minutes together."
The Bulls are one of three teams in the Eastern Conference that are playing better basketball and have moved their way up into the top eight in the playoff standings. Going into Friday, the Bulls, Charlotte and Toronto all had won seven of their previous 10 games.
Chicago's victory at Boston, which was playing its fourth game in five nights, was the third straight for the Bulls. And while Chicago has a long trip looming, it will hit the road with suitcases full of confidence.
"It's probably the most complete game we've played all year," Rose said after the Boston game. "We controlled it and that's something we've been working on. Everybody's healthy and we're trying to compete now."
Said center Joakim Noah: "We're playing good basketball and we're competing good. We just have to keep it up. We're really playing with a lot of energy. . . . I think (Boston) is one of the biggest wins of the year."
Coach Larry Brown's Bobcats also are showing improvement, and much of that is being linked to the addition of Stephen Jackson, who was obtained in a trade with Golden State. After beating Houston last week in a game in which Jackson scored a career-high 43 points, the Bobcats were 14-14 since the trade.
Brown thinks Jackson's presence has had a positive impact on the play of Boris Diaw .
"From a coaching aspect, I think we're doing a better job of figuring out how to utilize Boris, now that we have Stephen," said Brown. "I think (Diaw's) play has gotten a lot better.
"My biggest concern is the amount of minutes we've been playing guys. We've got to utilize our bench a little bit more. Not in the backcourt -- our backcourt is deep and very effective -- but we've got to get some other people playing."
The Raptors, despite losses last week to Boston and Indiana, have been playing their best basketball of the season over the past few weeks. Before Monday's loss to the Pacers, Toronto had won eight of nine games. The Raptors won a franchise-record nine games in December.
The Raptors were a season-low six games below .500 (11-17) on Dec. 16, but by winning seven of the next eight Toronto was back to .500 on Jan. 6.
The Milwaukee Bucks will play the Raptors twice this week -- Wednesday at the Bradley Center and Friday in Toronto.
Learning a lesson
Atlanta rookie Jeff Teague picked up a few pointers from Celtics' Ray Allen when the Hawks played in Boston last week.
Allen was introduced to Teague by Hawks assistant coach Jim Todd. Both Todd and Hawks coach Mike Woodson were Bucks assistants when Allen broke into the league in Milwaukee.
Allen told Teague how much Todd and Woodson had pushed him as a rookie and how he was still benefiting from it.
"Coming from an all-star, Ray Allen, I really value that," said Teague. "He said he's been through everything I did."
Z has value
Cleveland center Zydrunas Ilgauskas is bracing for a possible trade next month as he and his expiring $11.5 million contract will be a valuable commodity as the Feb. 18 trade deadline draws near.
He had hinted earlier that he might retire after this season, but he has teamed with Anderson Varejao to give Cleveland a solid 1-2 backup punch at center, and Ilgauskas now says he intends to play next season.
"I'm healthy, so why not?" said Ilgauskas, who would like to re-sign with the Cavaliers. "I'll get to do nothing the rest of my life."
Oh, Danny!
Indiana coach Jim O'Brien would like to rein in the three-point shooting of Danny Granger a bit.
Almost half of Granger's shots this season have come from three-point range, and he fired up 20 threes in his first two games back from a foot injury. O'Brien has talked to Granger about trying to take advantage of more one-on-one situations and get to the foul line more.
"Now we're playing with groups that are going to space the court," said O'Brien. "As a result, when the ball goes to Danny and somebody is closing out on him, there's no reason for him to settle for a challenged three because the court is wide open."
Corey connects
Minnesota's Al Jefferson was all over teammate Corey Brewer at practice the day after the Timberwolves' triple-overtime loss to Houston.
Brewer sank a halfcourt shot to tie the game and send it into the first overtime. Jefferson ended up playing almost 50 minutes, and his knees ached the next day.
"I'm mad at Brew because he made that shot," joked Jefferson. "If we had won, I'd have been happy. But since we lost, I ask him, 'Why did you hit that damn shot and make us keep playing?"'
Sensitive guy
San Antonio's Richard Jefferson, formerly of New Jersey and Milwaukee, apparently is shedding no tears over how the Nets season is going, as evidenced by this exchange:
New Jersey reporter: "Watch the Nets at all this year?"
Jefferson: "Not one game, not one quarter, not one minute."
Reporter: "Real sentimental, aren't you?"
Jefferson: "Not one bit."
No word on how much Jefferson keeps up on the Bucks.
Dialing long distance
That three-pointer that newcomer Sundiata Gaines sank as time expired to give Utah a one-point victory over Cleveland on Thursday was the first three-point basket of his short NBA career and only the 16th shot he attempted.
He began the season with the D-League's Idaho Stampede before signing with Utah on Jan. 5. He signed a second 10-day contract the day of the Cleveland game.
He was the third option on the play as Kyle Korver had the ball first but was trapped at the three-point line and passed to Ronnie Price, who didn't have good look either and passed to Gaines. Gaines then made a tough shot with Anthony Parker 's hand in his face.
"I had a feeling once it left my hand it had a good chance of going in," said Gaines. "I might watch (the highlights) 100 times."
Shopping trip
The rumor mill heated up when Dwyane Wade happened to bump into LeBron James when they both were in San Francisco last week.
Was it a clandestine meeting to plot strategy for their upcoming free agency so they could end up on the same team? Not really.
It was just a chance meeting, since the Cavaliers stayed over an extra day in the Bay Area after their game against Golden State, and the Heat arrived a day before their game against the Warriors. The teams stayed at different hotels in San Francisco, but Wade and James ran into each other while both were out with teammates in the same shopping area.
"I didn't even know they were in town," said Wade. "So it was a shock coming out of one of those stores and seeing him come out of another. We just sat and talked like normal. I went with my teammates and he went with his."
Fast breaks
Utah coach Jerry Sloan on the improved rebounding of guard Ronnie Brewer: "He's 6-7 and almost 240 pounds so he should get a lot of rebounds." . . .
Denver was 3-5 without the injured Chauncey Billups but won three of the first four games after he returned. . . .
Nets President Rod Thorn on the chances that one or more of the big-name 2010 free agents will be dealt in the weeks leading up to the trade deadline: "I think there's a possibility there, yes." . . .
The Thunder's Kevin Durant is averaging 9.3 free-throw attempts after averaging 5.6 attempts last season. . . .
Cleveland has out-rebounded the opposition in a league-high 15 straight games.
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DOWN THE LANE
THIS WEEK IN THE NBA
Atlanta wraps up a five-game homestand by taking on Oklahoma City, Sacramento and Charlotte. The Hawks, who are hanging right in there with Orlando in the race for the Southeast Division lead, had their confidence buoyed by a come-from-behind victory over Boston last week that improved their record to 3-0 against the Celtics. "This team has grown," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said. "I don't care how you cut it. We don't have to be considered as one of the elite teams, but we're a good team in the NBA that's fighting for something." The Chicago Bulls and Los Angeles Lakers both head on the road for marathon trips. Chicago starts a seven-game trip with games at Golden State, Los Angeles (Clippers) and Phoenix. The Bulls don't play at home again until Feb. 2 against the Clippers. Thursday's game at Cleveland is the first of eight straight on the road for the Lakers, who return home Feb. 3 to play Charlotte. Detroit and Houston can unpack for a while as each opens a six-game homestand -- the Pistons on Wednesday against Boston, and the Rockets on Saturday against Chicago. Two of the most improved teams in the league meet Friday when the Thunder is at Memphis.
GAME OF THE WEEK
The Lakers can get some payback for a home loss to the Cavaliers on Christmas Day when they visit Cleveland on Thursday.
BUCKS WEEK
The Bucks will close out the six-game trip Monday in Houston. They'll then return home to play Toronto on Wednesday in what will be another challenge. The first game home after a long trip is generally regarded around the league as another road game because of the travel involved. The Bucks will play at Toronto on Friday before hosting Minnesota on Saturday.
PLAYER OF THE WEEK
After playing 59 minutes and 25 seconds and scoring a career-high 43 points in a triple-overtime victory over Minnesota, Houston Rockets guard Aaron Brooks could only breathe a sigh of relief that the game had ended up in the "W" column. "We did not want to let that get away," said Brooks, who tied Cuttino Mobley for the most minutes ever played by a Rocket. "I mean, we played so hard. I played an hour of basketball. To have nothing to show for it, a loss, that would have hurt." As it turned out, though, Brooks and the Rockets were able to outlast the Timberwolves for their eighth straight home victory. Brooks, who sank a three-pointer to start the third overtime, scored 10 more points than any other Houston player had scored this season. The three-overtime game was the Rockets' first since February 2004, when they defeated Atlanta. Against Minnesota, Brooks made 14 of 30 shots, including 6 of 9 three-pointers, and 9 of 12 free throws. His thoughts when the game finally ended? "Thank you," he said. "Thank you."
QUOTABLE
"I couldn't hit a house if I was standing in the kitchen."
--Charlotte's Stephen Jackson after a 6-for-20 shooting night against Houston.
NUMBERS GAME
$147,201 -- Salary Gilbert Arenas will lose for each game he misses during his suspension.
1,648 -- Games Minnesota had played in its 21-year franchise history without a triple-overtime game until Wednesday's 120-114 loss to Houston.
6 -- Players (Oscar Robertson, Magic Johnson, Walt Frazier, Jason Kidd, LeBron James and Norm Van Lier) in NBA history to average at least 16 points, seven assists and five rebounds in their second season. Oklahoma City's Russell Westbrook (16.4, 7.3, 5.1) could make it seven.
10-0 -- Utah's record, going into Friday, when Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer each score at least 20 points in a game.
26 -- Rebounds for the Timberwolves' Al Jefferson against Houston, topping Kevin Garnett's franchise mark by one.
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