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Rose, who is still wearing a mask to protect an orbital
fracture suffered in the preseason, left Monday’s 96-95 win over
the Indiana Pacers midway through the fourth quarter after
suffering a sprained ankle. “My ankle's a little bit sore, but
I'm just happy nothing's tore or broken,” Rose told reporters
after the game. “So I'll be all right." Chicago could use Rose
on the defensive end against the Suns’ backcourt of Eric Bledsoe
and Brandon Knight. Bledsoe went for 30 points in a win over
Denver on Saturday and added 21 on Monday while Knight collected
30 points, 15 assists and 10 rebounds in Monday's 120-101
triumph over the Los Angeles Lakers.
TV: 10:30 p.m. ET, ESPN, WGN (Chicago), FSN Arizona (Phoenix)
ABOUT THE BULLS (7-3): Rose had been enjoying his best game in
over a week with 23 points and no turnovers against Indiana
before suffering the injury and is hoping to be back as soon as
Wednesday. The former MVP has so far played in every game this
season and is averaging 13.6 points on 37.7 percent shooting.
Rose’s long-range form has been off all season, but he connected
on both of his attempts from beyond the arc on Monday to lift
his 3-point percentage to 15.0.
ABOUT THE SUNS (6-4): Knight waited until late in his 41-minute
stint on Monday to grab his 10th rebound on a ball that caromed
all the way toward midcourt. “(My teammates) gave me a cue,”
Knight told reporters of the bench celebrating his
triple-double. “I was just blessed and thankful that (the
rebound) was able to roll back there because I was definitely
tired.” Knight has gone for 30 points or more in two of the last
three games.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Suns G Ronnie Price (concussion) and F Markieff Morris (knee)
each missed the last two games and are questionable for
Wednesday.
2. Bulls F Doug McDermott is 8-of-14 from 3-point range in the
last four games.
3. Chicago has taken seven of the last nine in the series but
fell at Phoenix 99-93 on Jan. 30 last season.
PREDICTION: Bulls 101, Suns 97
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