The Chicago Bulls got bad news aside from losing to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday, 116-108. After being taken out in the third quarter due to a foot injury, Matas Buzelis received worse news.
After the game, head coach Billy Donovan officially confirmed that Buzelis had sprained his ankle, per K.C. Johnson of The Chicago Sports Network. It came towards the end of the third quarter at the Thunder's end of the floor. Buzelis went down after stepping on the foot of a player. Shortly thereafter, he was seen limping and was taken back to the locker room.
Eventually, Buzelis returned to the bench, but quickly went back and didn't play in the fourth quarter. A few minutes before, Josh Giddey had rolled his ankle and was seen limping. He was taken out of the game, but remained on the bench. Ultimately, Giddey went back on the floor and finished with a double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds. Plus, he was one rebound shy of a triple-double with nine rebounds.
Along the way, Giddey officially tied Derrick Rose for fifth on the Bulls' all-time list of guards' double-doubles with 51.
Donovan said that Buzelis is day-to-day. Furthermore, Donovan said Giddey also has an ankle sprain. Both will be evaluated on Wednesday.
Altogether, Buzelis played 20 minutes and finished with 11 points and five rebounds. The Bulls are now 25-37 and have lost 15 out of their last 17 games. Now, the Bulls are set to embark on a five-game road trip. Already, Chicago has multiple players on the injured list, including Jalen Smith, Patrick Williams, Anfernee Simons, and Jaden Ivey.
Buzelis has played in 61 games this year and is averaging 15.4 points and 5.5 rebounds per game.
