The music was blaring and fans were screaming at decibels unheard in seven years in the United Center, loud enough to shake the old echoes, but not loud enough to drown out the new ones coming from Andres Nocioni's lungs.

Chicago's 25-year-old rookie forward from Argentina, Nocioni seized every rebound like a birthright, punctuating all 18 with a yell as if to announce: The Bulls are back.