Chicago Bulls fourth-year center Eddy Curry did not accompany the team on the flight back to Chicago this morning. Instead, Curry, 22, remained in Charlotte, N.C. for observation and treatment for an irregular heartbeat.

The 6-11, 285-pound Curry has appeared in 60 games for the Bulls this season, including 60 starts, and is averaging a team-high 16.1 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 28.7 mpg, while shooting .538 from the floor.

"Right before the game, I felt some lightheadedness and dizziness. It came out of nowhere, so it really kind of scared me a little bit," Curry said after the game.

Curry also had scored at least 25 points in his previous two games, making a strong case for why the Bulls should resign the young center this offseason.

Ben Gordon scored 22 of his career-high 35 points in the fourth quarter Wednesday night to lead the Chicago Bulls to their seventh straight win, 102-99 over the Charlotte Bobcats.

``I was just feeling it,'' said Gordon, who scored the Bulls' final 16 points. ``I was getting good looks, I was freeing myself up, and all I needed was a split second.''

Fellow rookie Emeka Okafor had 17 points and 10 rebounds, another solid but far from spectacular night.

``When Ben gets in a zone, he just turns it on,'' Okafor said. ``I was with him for three years, so I've seen everything.''

Bulls point guard Kirk Hinrich has done everything he can to get back into the lineup, however his strained left hamstring does not seem to be improving causing him to miss his second straight game.

"It's depressing," Hinrich said.

?It's disturbing because he hasn't gotten any better," Skiles said. "I know Kirk would play almost no matter what. When the time comes that he can't play, it's serious enough that I should be concerned. It's an injury that requires rest. It's a time of year when you don't get

Kirk Hinrich, the Bulls surprising second-year point guard sat out last night's game in order to heal his strained left hamstring, it was the first game he had missed with in injury in his 2-year career.

"It wasn't getting better at all," Hinrich said (of his left hamstring).

"Every day it was getting harder to get loose and more and more painful. It's frustrating. The only thing that will make it better is rest."

It is not yet known when Hinrich will return to the Bulls lineup.

The Chicago Bulls won their eighth straight versus the Raptors on Wednesday, beating Toronto 94-85.  Eddy Curry led the Bulls with 16 points.

``It feels good to beat these guys, especially when you arrive in your hotel room last night and see Jalen Rose on TV guaranteeing a win,'' Curry said. ``That's even more incentive. At this point we just wished we could have won by a little bit more.'

Rose did do his part to back up the guarantee, scoring 30 points, but it wasn't enough for the Raptors.

``They wouldn't have said that if they lost,'' Rose said. ``If they need me to say something to get them motivated to play, they'll be getting bounced in the first round.''

Donyell Marshall will be a free-agent this summer and his former team, the Chicago Bulls, may be the frontrunners for his services.

''While I'm going to be looking at many situations, Chicago is definitely one of the teams I wouldn't mind playing for,'' Marshall said after practice Tuesday. ''I'm looking for a team where I can get meaningful minutes, a good contract and a chance to play for a winner. The Bulls have all those. I didn't want to leave in the first place, and my family [fiancee Leea Kielpinski and their four children] still live in that same house in Long Grove I bought when I signed with Chicago.

''I first signed with Chicago because I felt they had an up-and-coming team and because the city is equal distance from my home in Philadelphia and Leea's home in Minnesota. But this is a business, and trades are part of it. [Bulls coach Scott] Skiles got hired just a couple of days before I got traded. I had a couple of practices under him, and the last one was the best one I had had with them since I was there because he moved me to small forward and saw that a front line of me, Eddy Curry and Tyson Chandler would really be a productive one.''

The fine comes as a result of an exchange between Allen Iverson and referee Marc Davis on Saturday during the Sixers loss to the Bulls.

Iverson, upset about the calls, challenged Mr. Davis and eventually had to be restrained by his teammates.

"From the history of it, I suspect something will happen to me," said Iverson, who did not practice with the team because of a thumb injury. "I would not be surprised if they decide I was wrong and should be punished."

The fine is a small ding in the Iverson?s pocket book, just about the equivalant to one year's parking tickets for the Philly superstar.

The Chicago Bulls announced today they have activated forward Luol Deng and placed center Jared Reiner on the Injured List with a left hip flexor strain. Deng will be in uniform tonight when Chicago hosts Atlanta at the United Center at 7:30 P.M. CT. Per NBA rules, Reiner will miss a minimum of five games.

Deng returns to the active roster tonight after spending the last 10 games on the Injured List with a right ankle sprain suffered against Houston on March 1. A 6-8, 220-pound rookie from Duke, Deng has appeared in 54 games for the Bulls and has started 45 games. On the year, he is averaging 12.2 ppg, 5.4 rpg and 2.3 apg in 28.0 mpg.

Al Harrington (sore back) is probable for toinghts game verusus the Chicago Bulls.

Hawks Injury Report - Michael Stewart (low back spasms) and Kevin Willis (lower back strain) are on the injured list.

The Chicago Bulls won a big game towards making the playoffs on Saturday night, beating the Sixers by a final score of 94-88.

Othella Harrington scored a season-high 24 points and Ben Gordon had eight of his 22 in the fourth quarter as the Bulls snapped a four-game losing streak.

Chris Duhon had the job of guarding Allen Iverson and even though he finished with 31 points, A.I. committed 11 turnovers.

``Tonight was just a bad game, that's all,'' Iverson said. ``That's it. The calls weren't going our way and I missed a lot of shots I normally make.''

Chris Webber was a late scratch for the 76ers with a compressed nerve in his left leg. Philadelphia is 6-6 since acquiring Webber in a trade with the Sacramento Kings.

The team did not announce how long it expected Webber to be sidelined.

``I knew that he had discomfort in his Achilles when he woke up today,'' Sixers coach Jim O'Brien said. ``The staff called me and said they would check him out. When he came in, there was some swelling. They got it down but it was too tender for him to play.''