Deng aggravates injury in second half
LOS ANGELES _ Bulls forward Luol Deng came down with a sore back after Thursday's loss in Phoenix and as a result, did not participate in the ensuing practice or shootaround.
By tip-off time on Saturday night, Deng felt better and scored 10 points in 27 minutes during the Bulls' victory over the Clippers. But he aggravated the injury in the second half and gave a pessimistic prognosis after the contest.
"I don't think I'm going to play (tonight against the Lakers)," he said. "I'm not even sure about Tuesday (at Denver). I'm probably going to be smart about it and wait for it to go away, because this is different. I thought it was one of those injuries you can just play through. But I couldn't really run. I couldn't bend down. All my shots were short.
"I might get it looked at tomorrow, maybe get an MRI. I think it's just bruised. When I massage it and take care of it, it feels better. So we'll see."
When Deng came out of the game with 3:42 left in the third quarter, coach Scott Skiles said he was told by trainer Fred Tedeschi that Deng was done for the night.
Deng felt good at the beginning of the contest, when he scored 8 points in the first quarter while hitting 4 of 6 shots.