The Chicago Bulls could be without shooting guard Josh Giddey when they attempt to extend a two-game winning streak on Thursday with a road game against the Boston Celtics.
Giddey was on pace to record his second triple-double in a Bulls uniform when he left Monday night’s 122-121 victory over the Toronto Raptors in the third quarter with a right ankle injury. He went straight to the locker room and did not return. Giddey injured the same ankle during the Paris Olympics.
Giddey finished the game with 11 points, nine rebounds and eight assists.
He spent three seasons with the Oklahoma City Thunder before he was traded to Chicago last June in exchange for Alex Caruso. Giddey is averaging 11.9 points, 6.4 rebounds and 6.9 assists in 27 games with the Bulls this season.
The Celtics also are dealing with an injury to one of their top players. Center Kristaps Porzingis left Sunday’s 112-98 win against Washington in the first half with an injury to his right heel. He did not return to the court.
“He’s getting better,” Boston coach Joe Mazzulla said Tuesday. “He’s in the weight room right now. Go through some shooting and then we’ll just kind of see how he is day-to-day.”
Porzingis, Boston’s No. 3 scorer, missed the first month of the season while he was recovering from offseason surgery on his left foot. He’s averaging 19 points and 7 rebounds per contest in seven games.
Porzingis downplayed his latest injury following the game.
“I banged up my heel a little bit,” he said. “I kept on playing. It was nothing major, honestly. More like a precautionary thing. It was pretty sensitive. I told the medical staff and they just pulled me out of the game. I don’t think it’s anything major.”
The game Thursday will be the first of back-to-back meetings between the Bulls and Celtics. The teams will face each other again Saturday in Chicago.
Jayson Tatum collected 35 points and 14 rebounds to help Boston earn a 138-129 road win against Chicago on Nov. 29 in the first meeting between the teams this season.
Although the Bulls didn’t have leading scorer Zach LaVine (back) for Monday’s game against Toronto, Chicago connected on 14 3-point shots in the win. LaVine, who is averaging 21.7 points per game, is a player who has been mentioned frequently in trade rumors.
The Bulls have made at least 10 3-pointers in 27 consecutive games, which is a franchise record.
“I love the way these guys are playing — the unselfishness,” Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. “I like the shots that we’re generating. It’s one thing to say we want to take more 3s, right? If you sit there and say we’re going to take all these 3s and you look down through the analytics and the majority of your 3s are highly contested shots or bad shots what does that mean? So it’s how can we do it?
“I appreciate the way the guys have really pushed the pace, played fast, gotten the ball up and down the floor, and when they’ve gotten to the teeth of the defense they’ve tried to make the right decision, the right play.”
Like Chicago, Boston enters Thursday’s matchup on a two-game winning streak. They have won 12 of their past 14 games.
–Field Level Media
