Dunleavy may miss first game as a Bull

During the past two seasons, through all the injury problems the Bulls have endured, Mike Dunleavy has been a shining light of good health.

He's played in every game since joining the Bulls in the summer of 2013, but he is in danger of sitting out Saturday against Boston.

Dunleavy suffered a jammed right foot in the third quarter of Thursday's win over Denver and did not practice Friday. He's listed as questionable on the injury report.

"We'll see where he is tomorrow," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said, in predictable fashion, on Friday at the Advocate Center.

Dunleavy said the injury is similar to a sprained ankle, but he didn't actually twist the ankle. He just came down on it wrong while trying to stop a Nuggets fast break. He was still limping badly in the locker room, but was optimistic about keeping his streak intact.

"You've got to play them all. That's what you get paid for," Dunleavy said after the game.

If Dunleavy sits out, the Bulls would be down to two players who have appeared in every game this season - Aaron Brooks and Nikola Mirotic.

With Dunleavy out, the Bulls used a three-guard lineup of Brooks, Derrick Rose and Kirk Hinrich at times in the fourth quarter.

Brooks' Seattle story:

Aaron Brooks has known former Bulls guard and fellow Seattle native Nate Robinson since he was seven years old. So the natural question that follows is, what was Robinson like at that age?

"Same. Bigger than everybody. Well, smaller, but physically bigger than everybody," Brooks said. "A phenomenal athlete. You just had the sense that whatever sport he wanted to go pro in, he was going to do it. I know a lot of people say that loosely about kids. But with him, whatever he picked that he wanted to do professionally, he was going to do."

Brooks was a year younger than Robinson and they played for rival high schools, but they were good friends growing up, playing pee wee football and travel basketball together.

Robinson, now with the Denver Nuggets, probably could have gone pro in multiple sports. He originally attended the University of Washington on a football scholarship and started at cornerback for a year before focusing on basketball.

"He was a phenomenal, phenomenal athlete," Brooks added. "We never lost, every age group."

Gasol skips practice:

Pau Gasol also sat out Friday's practice, after producing a career-high 9 blocks, to go with 17 points and 9 rebounds, against Denver. He posted those numbers even while sitting out most of the fourth quarter. After the game, Gasol sent a reminder, in a pleasant voice, that he doesn't like being on the bench down the stretch.

"One hundred percent. Always," Gasol said. "I always want to be in the game, especially in the fourth quarter when the game is on the line, regardless of what I have."