CHICAGO - Listen to Charlotte Bobcats coach Paul Silas' description of Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng.

"He's very experienced. He knows exactly when to shoot and he knows how to play defense," Silas said after a 95-89 loss to the Bulls at United Center. "He's all about, 'I'm going to be successful every game.'

"He breaks your heart."

That sounded like everything Silas' Bobcats weren't, Saturday night or in general, so far this season. There is no heart-breaker on this team, no one consistent enough to be successful every night, no one as efficient offensively or versatile defensively as Deng was in this game.

Former Duke star Deng carried the Bulls with 22 points, eight rebounds, four assists and great position defense. Chicago needed all of that on a night when it was missing reigning league most valuable player Derrick Rose and starting center Joakim Noah. Those two were out with injuries, as were reserves Taj Gibson and John Lucas III.

Despite all those injuries - the Bulls had some strange combinations playing in the second half - Chicago easily held off the Bobcats. That troubled Silas and some of his players, who saw an opportunity squandered.

"With them not having all their players, I thought we had a legitimate shot tonight," said Silas, whose team had three days off between games, a rare luxury in this compact, post-lockout season.

"It's very difficult when you're not coming with enough energy. We just didn't have our attitude right," he added. "That puzzles me, because we had three days off."

Silas wasn't alone in questioning how this team handled opportunity Saturday.

"We played a very good team tonight, but I honestly think we should have won," said Bobcats center Byron Mullens, who finished with 17 points and five rebounds. "They had a lot of firepower, but we had our chances."

By game's end, the Bobcats outshot the Bulls (narrowly, by two-tenths of a percentage point) and outrebounded the Bulls. Beating Chicago on the boards is a rarity; the Bulls lead the NBA in rebounds per game.

But it seemed every time Chicago needed a big basket, Deng, Carlos Boozer (23 points) or Richard Hamilton (20 points) had an unimpeded lane to the rim.

"Once the game got going, we just let one slip away," Mullens said. "Can't let that keep happening."