Bulls rout Bucks

Joakim Noah became the first Bulls center to post a triple-double since Artis Gilmore in 1977 in the Bulls’ 110-91 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Wednesday night at the United Center. It was the last game before the All-Star break, and a team get-together was planned for later in the evening. Noah turns 27 on Saturday.

Those facts, coupled with the Bulls owning the league’s third-best record (27-8) despite the NBA’s toughest first-half schedule, suggested Noah and the team had plenty of reasons to celebrate.

“It feels good,” Noah said. “It feels even better to have this break right now. We just wanted to come out and play hard and be focused for tonight. We got the ‘W,’ it’s my birthday in a couple days and there’s going to be a team function tonight for all the Bulls players. It’s going to be a fun night.”

The Bulls’ long-term objective is defeating the Miami Heat and advancing to the NBA Finals. Until the playoffs, the focus remains on the lesser goals Tom Thibodeau serves fresh to his team daily. On this night, the Bulls coach didn’t want anyone leaving early for the long weekend.

The team responded with a dominating performance before Derrick Rose, Luol Deng and Thibodeau and his staff head to Orlando, Fla., for the All-Star Game while the rest of the Bulls enjoy a well-deserved blow.