Game #63, Tue, 03/09 Bulls vs Jazz

Unfortunately, the Noah-less Bulls flunked yet another defensive test in their 132-108 loss to the Jazz.

Their season-high-tying five-game skid, coupled with the Bobcats' victory over the Heat, has dropped them to ninth in the Eastern Conference playoff picture. Worse, the Bulls continue to display troubling defensive signs without their energetic and emotional leader.

"Joakim helps us a lot, but our team defense hasn't been very good," Kirk Hinrich said. "We're getting away from what has made us successful."

Indeed, that's eight straight opponents who have surpassed the century mark against the Bulls. That hasn't happened in franchise history since Feb. 8, 1990. It's also the fifth time in eight games the opponent has shot 50 percent or better as the Jazz, the league's most accurate shooting team, checked in at 54.2 percent.

The Bulls also lost Luol Deng to a right calf strain early in the fourth quarter. Deng, who will undergo an MRI on Wednesday, had returned from missing Monday's practice with the flu to score 14 points in 32 minutes.

"We're not going to win games unless we play better ‘D,'" Deng said. "Our offense is fine."

the Bulls, who have allowed an average of a staggering 115 points in their losing streak

Taj Gibson failed to score with just one rebound before fouling out in 13 minutes, exiting after he bit on Mehmet Okur's pump-fake on a 3-pointer with 9:24 left. Del Negro said Gibson's plantar fasciitis acted up.

the Bulls, who have allowed an average of a staggering 115 points in their losing streak

Taj Gibson failed to score with just one rebound before fouling out in 13 minutes, exiting after he bit on Mehmet Okur's pump-fake on a 3-pointer with 9:24 left. Del Negro said Gibson's plantar fasciitis acted up.