After suffering a sickening 98-73 loss to the Sacramento Kings Sunday, the Bucks quickly regained their health Tuesday night. The combination of playing the Chicago Bulls, arguably the worst team in the NBA, and an explosive 34-point third-quarter helped the Bucks to a 110-81 victory at the Bradley Center.

The Bucks didn't care that the victory came against a Bulls team with a 16-49 record.

?After Sunday's blowout, it didn't matter who we played,'' said Bucks starting center Joel Przybilla, who delivered an impressive defensive outing with seven rebounds and three blocked shots. ?After Sunday's game, we had to look at ourselves in the mirror.

?We knew we had to play better, and I think we were determined to do that. We had a great practice yesterday, and it showed in our play tonight.''

As vital as the Bucks' victory was, some potentially-disturbing news for them arose after the game. Tim Thomas, the team's standout sixth man, said his knee injury is worse than had been reported.

Thomas, the Bucks' fourth-leading scorer and most versatile player, sprained his right knee in the second period of Sunday's game and didn't play return. He also didn't suit up for the Bulls' game.

While leaving the Bradley Center late Tuesday night, Thomas said the injury could be major.

?They told me there's some torn ligaments in the knee,'' Thomas said. ?The knee's not good at all.''

Usually when a player sustains a torn ligament, surgery isn't far behind. But Thomas, who has perhaps the highest pain threshhold on the team, said he intended to delay surgery if that was necessary.

?I'm going to try and wait it out,'' said Thomas, who signed a six-year, $67 million contract in 2000. ?I'm going to keep trying to play.''