Bulls notes News Philadelphia Sixers

Bulls special-assignments scout Ron Adams has been hired as an assistant coach by the Oklahoma City Thunder. Adams was an assistant for the Bulls for five seasons before moving to the front office last summer when coach Vinny Del Negro was hired. ''Ron has a great understanding and knowledge of the NBA and is a tremendous teacher of the game,'' general manager John Paxson said.

''He played a key role working with our players over the past five-plus years, and I expect him to do the same in his new role with the Thunder.'' Adams, an 18-year NBA coaching veteran, joined the Bulls as a member of Bill Cartwright's staff for the 2003-04 season and also assisted Scott Skiles and Jim Boylan. ... Luol Deng missed his third game Wednesday because of a sprained left ankle and didn't sound as if he'd be able to play Friday at Cleveland. ''I haven't run on it yet,'' he said. ''I haven't done anything.'' Drew Gooden, out the last six games with a sprained right ankle, might play at Cleveland. ... The Magic's 38-inch TV, which it used to show video during meetings, was stolen Tuesday out of a ballroom at the Conrad Hotel, where the team was staying. ... The Bulls missed 6 of 7 three-point attempts in the first half but made 5 of 8 in the second half. ... Rookie point guard Derrick Rose was asked when he last failed to get an assist at any level. ''Probably never,'' Rose said. ''This might be the first game.'' ... Del Negro played eight of his 10 healthy players at least 20 minutes while trying to find a combination to slow the Magic, which never trailed and led by 33. ''No matchups or rotations were going to fix the problems we had,'' Del Negro said. ''From the get-go, they jumped on us. They got us back on our heels early.'' Only Aaron Gray (15:10) and Cedric Simmons (5:13) played less than 20 minutes.