CHICAGO -- Late in the evening Tuesday, long after the Bulls' desultory loss to San Antonio, Joakim Noah finally appeared and stood near his locker in full uniform for his regular postgame media debriefing.

The tallest Bull was upset but not angry.

Taj Gibson might not be a starter for the Bulls, but there's no doubting his importance. Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images

His team had gotten blown out early by the methodical Spurs, only creeping back to respectability -- and a 104-96 loss -- during "Jimmer Time" in the fourth quarter.

Noah takes losses hard -- "It'll be tough to go to bed tonight," he said -- and the only victories he really celebrates come against the Miami Heat, whom the Bulls had defeated just two days prior.

So when a reporter asked Noah if the makeup of the locker room helps the team bounce back from these types of games, he barely blinked before giving his answer.

"I don't take anything for granted, this team doesn't take anything for granted," Noah said. "Just because you usually do something doesn't mean it just happens. You gotta go out there and do it."

A bounce-back victory seemed to be in the cards, and the Bulls went out and got one.

As reporter and subject expected, Chicago bounced back with a vengeance Thursday night, drubbing the Houston Rockets 111-87. It was a fun victory -- and a gutty one.

After Mike Dunleavy got nailed above his eye by a Chandler Parsons' elbow in the second quarter, he returned with 10 stitches to score all 21 of his points in the second half.

"He had a huge knot on his head looking like [Evander] Holyfield, the white version, coming out there putting on a new jersey, gutting it out in the second half," Noah told reporters.

Bloodied but unbowed -- that's the Bulls this season.

This isn't a very tough team to figure out. The Bulls aren't about tricks. Coach Tom Thibodeau's defense isn't about gimmicks. From Jimmy Butler's lockdown defense to Taj Gibson's hammer dunks, this team wins through execution and effort. Simple to explain but hard to maintain for most teams.

With Derrick Rose out again and a crop of free agents on the horizon, the temptation is to think about the future, which is really only less than four months away. Noah swatted away the "recruiting Carmelo Anthony" stories. He's focused on the present.