Rose leaves early after bumping left knee

INDIANAPOLIS - Already missing center Joakim Noah on Saturday night, the Bulls didn't need Derrick Rose knocked out of the game with knocked knees.

But Rose left the floor at the 2:56 mark of the fourth quarter after he tried to stop Pacers point guard Earl Watson on a drive to the basket and bumped his left knee. Rose immediately grabbed his leg in alarm. Once on the bench, he removed a knee pad and was examined by assistant trainer Jeff Tanaka. As the clock wound down, Rose could be seen massaging the injured area.

Following the game, Rose retreated to the trainer's room, his left knee encased in ice. It doesn't appear to be anything serious, but Rose never gave his version. He ducked out of the locker room's back door without speaking to reporters.

Coach Vinny Del Negro didn't think it was any cause for concern. The Bulls are likely to take Sunday off before hosting Atlanta on Monday.

Noah will miss more games: Joakim Noah's absence has been stretched to indefinite, and there is no timetable for his return. The third-year center has been suffering from plantar fasciitis in his left foot and announced plans to skip Saturday's trip to Indiana after playing an important 27 minutes in Friday's overtime win over Portland.

"He's going to be out for a few days at least and miss a few games here for sure," coach Vinny Del Negro said before Saturday's contest. "He's going to need some rest.

"We're trying to figure out the best attack for this. He's going to have some pain playing. Hopefully we can minimize that with treatments."

There's really no telling how this absence will play out. After Friday's game, Noah said he planned to keep playing in pain, because it's too late in the season to take enough time off to let the injury heal.

Accidental inactive: The Indiana game offered a chance for the Bulls to get a look at forward Joe Alexander, who was acquired from Milwaukee with Hakim Warrick on Feb. 18.

There already were three players not with the team - Joakim Noah, Jerome James and Lindsey Hunter - who should have constituted the three inactive players.

But there was a mistake made while filling out the pregame roster. The same lineup was copied from the day before, with Noah active and Alexander inactive. So the second-year forward had to remain in street clothes on the bench.

Bull horns: The Bulls still might release a player and sign an extra big man. Monday is the deadline for released players to be eligible to participate in the playoffs for a new team, so that could conceivably serve as incentive for someone such as Devin Brown to accept a buyout. - Coach Vinny Del Negro wasn't sure when Lindsey Hunter would return to the team. He has missed the past week for personal reasons.