CHICAGO -- Derrick Rose considers Joakim Noah to be like an older brother. The pair is extremely close and, like most brothers, they have the ability to read one another without saying a word.

That's why it's easy for Rose to see why Noah, the Bulls' emotional center, has been playing much better in the past month and why he was able to go off for his first career triple-double in Wednesday night's 110-91 win over the Milwaukee Bucks.

"Confidence," Rose said. "He's got a lot of confidence right now. He's feeling good about himself, good about his jump shot. He's just playing hard and just trying to compete while he's out there."

That certainly was the case on Wednesday night, but it wasn't on Saturday when Noah registered zero points in a loss to the hapless New Jersey Nets.

In the span of just four days, Noah has gone from being dejected and angry about his performance to elated. Why does this continue to happen for a player the Bulls are counting on to help lead them in the second half of the season? Even Noah isn't quite sure.

"Well, that's a roller coaster for you," Noah said with a smile. "I just got to try and find a way to be more consistent out there. Play with energy. And just do my thing."

For Noah, doing his thing means being able to affect the game in multiple ways, as he did against the Bucks when he had 13 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists. When other teammates were faced with pressure and had to give up the ball, they trusted Noah with the next pass.

"It was all luck," Bulls' forward Luol Deng joked. "Jo played great. He was big for us tonight. Made a lot of plays. They tried to double on Derrick. We put the ball in [Noah]'s hand, and he made good decisions."

That's been a staple of Noah's game, even during his early-season struggles. He is one of the better passing big men in the NBA. The bigger issue for Noah is that his trademark energy has been lacking at times this season, and he has had problems finishing at the rim. But that wasn't the case on Wednesday. Noah played with a ferocity that he's been trying to find most of the season.

"He's been a man child," Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said. "You guys have seen the same thing I've been seeing. Dominating the boards, protecting the paint, passing the ball, scoring the ball, his offense has been phenomenal. Finishing every play. Obviously, great energy like normal. But he's been playing like a man child."

Noah knows that the good times only last so long. He's just trying to find a middle ground. The Bulls are hoping he can find one quickly so that when they return to practice on Monday afternoon, he doesn't have to ride the roller coaster quite so hard during the final few months of games.

"It feels good," Noah said of his triple-double. "It feels even better to have this break right now. We just wanted to come out and play hard and be focused for tonight. Got the W. It's my birthday in a couple days so there's going to be a team function tonight with all the Bulls players. It's going to be fun tonight."

Just like his game on Wednesday.