Feb 22, 2013; Charlotte, NC, USA; Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah (13) reacts to the call during the second half against the Charlotte Bobcats at Time Warner Arena . Mandatory Credit: Curtis Wilson-USA TODAY Sports

Noah’s big night aside, the Bulls didn’t really play all that well. They struggled to score for much of the night, finishing under 40 percent from the field on the night, but Noah combined with a Sixers team that couldn’t score at all turned out to be enough.

Carlos Boozer notched a double-double with 21 points and 12 rebounds — although he was pretty much an afterthought for most of the night — but this was basically the Joakim Noah show. He finished with 23/21/11 in what might be the best game of his career. Spencer Hawes had 20 and 15 for Philly, somehow, and Jrue Holiday had 22.

The Bulls desperately needed this win after an extremely rough February, including losing three of their last four games, and they did enough to win. February 2013 will not go down as anyone’s favorite month ever, but it’s behind the Bulls now, and this was a good way to end it.

The Bulls’ next game will be on Saturday, as they take on the Brooklyn Nets at the United Center.

On January 17th, 2011 Derrick Rose treated Chicago fans to what was yet to come when he posted his first career Triple-Double against the Memphis Grizzlies.

The Bulls were starting to get on a roll when they barreled into January with high expectations of themselves. They also began to hear something they hadn’t heard in a while: MVP. Derrick Rose was just in his third year out of college and was just 22 and already beginning to leave his mark on Chicago.

The best was yet to come.

On January 17th, a mere game after Rose dropped 34 on the Miami Heat, he went off on the Grizzlies and gave a glimpse of what was yet to come for the 22 year old’s unforgettable 2011 campaign.

Rose finished the Heat game with 34 points and 8 assists, two shy of a double-double. But he bested that in the grandest way against Memphis by posting 22 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists giving the 22 year old his first career triple-double and putting his name on the map for serious MVP contenders.

“It [felt] the same,” Rose said with a laugh. “A win is a win, no matter how my stats are. I’m just happy we got the win, without some of the key players that’s on our team.”

The key players he was pointing to was actually one in particular, Joakim Noah. Noah was in the middle of missing a chunk of games with his hand injury and Rose was there to pick up the slack.

It was also a sort of homecoming for Rose. He played his college ball at Memphis and this was the first time he was returning as a true superstar, only the world didn’t know it yet.

The impressive numbers in Rose’s triple-double were not the points and assists, he does that on a nightly basis. It was rather the rebounds and the fact his body was bouncing in the paint against much bigger ones and coming up with the ball. 10 rebounds is a huge number for a point guard and Rose made it look easy, as he did with most things in 2011.

The triple-double was the peak, at the time, in the minds of some analysts but those with foresight saw that this kid from the south side wasn’t just a fluke, he was not just the real deal but he was seriously MVP type material.

Rose even used his opportunity in the spotlight to not gloat, but cast self criticism, something Chicago fans have come to know and admire from him, about his poor shooting and low total. He explained that he played on the court at least 20 times in college (Rose attended Memphis University) and knew where all the hot shooting spots were, yet failed to prodice numbers he felt he was (more…)