PORTLAND Ore. Friday marked one of those nights where blowing a 21 point lead and losing a basketball game became secondary.
In a scene painfully familiar to one from April 2012 Derrick Rose left the Bulls 98 95 loss to the Trail Blazers with a right knee injury suffered on a non contact play late in the third quarter.
Coach Tom Thibodeau said Rose would undergo an MRI exam on Saturday in Los Angeles where the team flew overnight Friday. The exam was expected to be performed during the afternoon with results not expected until Saturday evening Central time.
Related Video Rose injures right knee on this play Video Thibodeau on Rose's knee injury Video Deng on Rose's knee 'Said it's sore' Boozer Bulls' model of consistency Maps Moda Center 1 North Center Court Street Portland OR 97227 USA United Center 1901 West Madison Street Chicago IL 60612 USAHe has pain and it felt like he couldn t push off his right knee Thibodeau said. I m concerned. Any time anyone goes down you re concerned. But I don t want to speculate until we get more information.
While no immediate word came regarding its severity Rose couldn t put weight on the leg as training staff personnel escorted him to the locker room after Marquis Teague replaced him. Rose who didn t address reporters afterward also used crutches to hobble in and out of the shower after the game.
While most teammates tried to remain upbeat the Bulls having lived through this when Rose tore his left ACL in April 2012 and missed all of last season privately braced for the worst.
I know he s a strong guy who worked extremely hard this summer to get his body right working out every day Taj Gibson said. So it sucks that it had to happen but that s what happens in this league. It s a tough league.
I went in there and checked on him. He said he was doing OK. He didn t seem nervous. Of course he s a competitor so he was more focused on us trying to pull that win out. He was just focused on us getting that win.
Now the focus is on what the MRI will say. But he s having good hopes. His head was high. He wasn t down feeling sorry for himself.
Rose suffered the injury when he attempted a backcut from the wing. His leg appeared to buckle as he tried to change direction when Nicolas Batum stole Joakim Noah s pass. Rose didn t fall to the ground and did begin running downcourt before the Bulls called a 20 second timeout after Wes Matthews missed a jumper.
Thibodeau said a Trail Blazers team physician examined Rose after the game.
He s disappointed he couldn t finish the game Thibodeau said. Derrick s a hard guy to read. He doesn t show a lot of emotion. But we re concerned.
Again I don t want to speculate on what it is and what it might be other than my concern for him. I know how much work he has put into his rehab and the type of person and player he is. So I feel for him because of all the things that he does and what they mean to our team.
That Rose had tied his season high with 20 points and attempted a season high seven free throws to that point made the loss all the more painful.
The Trail Blazers have won nine straight while the Bulls dropped their sixth straight here and fell to 0 2 on this season high six game trip.
Matthews 28 points led Portland which placed all five starters in double figures.
One night after shooting 3 for 18 Luol Deng had a double double of 15 points and 14 rebounds but his game tying 3 point attempt at the buzzer fell short.
The Bulls looked dominant in the first half in building their big early lead holding LaMarcus Aldridge to 1 for 10 shooting. Aldridge finished 4 for 20 but hit two crucial free throws late.
After blowing their big lead the Bulls trailed by seven but rallied mostly behind Kirk Hinrich. He sank a big 3 pointer for a 93 88 Bulls lead but got matched by Damian Lillard. Hinrich who scored 13 points responded with a reverse layup for a four point lead. But Batum sank a 3 pointer.
After a Bulls miss Matthews hit a jumper to put the Trail Blazers ahead for good with 1 37 remaining.
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