Rose injures hip; Bulls fall hard, too

Dwight Howard and Derrick Rose were supposed to be close friends, bonding during a promotional tour of China last summer.

But Howard ruined the Bulls' night and might have knocked Rose out of this weekend's All-Star Game with a hard foul early in the first quarter of Orlando' 107-87 victory at the United Center.

Rose drove to the basket and was met in midair by the 6-foot-11, 265-pound center. Howard also chopped down with his left arm while Rose was off balance.

The fans cheered as Rose's shot rolled through the basket, but the second-year guard fell hard on his tailbone and quickly rolled over in obvious pain. After a few minutes on the ground, he was helped to the Bulls' bench.

Rose underwent an MRI on his lower back and right hip last night at the Rush University Medical Center, bull.com reported this morning. "The results were consistent with the fall and showed no significant injury to the hip or lower back," the Web site reported. "He will be re-examined in Dallas, Texas on Saturday by Bulls team physician Dr. Brian Cole of Midwest Orthopaedics at Rush."

"It was nothing intentional," Howard said after the game. "Me and Derrick are good friends, so I'd never try to do anything to hurt him. My job is to protect the basket. I just hope he's OK. I'll hit him up in a little bit and make sure he's fine and pray for him."

If that's how hard Howard hits his good friends, what kind of fouls does he give his enemies? Howard did seem remorseful in the locker room, but that didn't stop him from making a joke about the play.

"I think it was just his momentum," Howard added. "It wasn't like I just caught him and threw him down. He hit the 'Man of Steel.' It was nothing personal."

The injury officially was termed a bruised right hip. X-rays were negative, so the Bulls are reasonably certain Rose didn't suffer any fractures. He was wearing the padded compression shorts that are popular with NBA players these days.

Rose also was taken for a precautionary MRI at nearby Rush University Medical Center.

"If there's not a great deal of inflammation, I think we can be optimistic," Bulls trainer Fred Tedeschi said.

Rose was supposed to be the Bulls' first All-Star Game participant since Michael Jordan in 1998 and also defend his title in the skills contest Saturday night in Dallas. It's too soon to tell if Rose will have to pull out of those events.

"He's going to feel it tomorrow morning," said teammate Luol Deng, who led the Bulls with 23 points. "It looked pretty bad."

Rose probably was a victim of his phenomenal vertical leap. When someone can jump that high in the air, he has a long way to fall.

He came back on the court to shoot the free throw that completed the 3-point play. The Bulls then committed an intentional foul to get Rose out of the game for good at the 9:36 mark of the first quarter.

Rose's injury was essentially the game-ender for the Bulls (25-26). The 3-point play brought the Bulls within 9-6. But Orlando hit 11 of its first 13 shots, including 4 straight from 3-point range, and led 41-17 at the end of one quarter. The Bulls never got closer than 18 points the rest of the way.

"We were getting drilled," guard Kirk Hinrich said. "It didn't matter if we missed or scored, they seemed to beat us down the floor. They were moving the ball well, and we didn't have an answer."

The only bright spot for the home team was extended playing time for guys like Jannero Pargo and James Johnson, who hadn't played in awhile. Tyrus Thomas also looked good, finishing with 16 points and 6 rebounds in his second game back after a one-game suspension.

Howard led Orlando (36-17) with 18 points.

"We wanted to come out and send a message," Howard said. "The last time we played them (Jan. 2), they beat us pretty bad. We didn't like that, so we came out tonight with great energy, great effort, and we stuck with it for the whole game."

<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker</p>

<p class="News">Magic 107, Bulls 87</p>

<p class="News"><b>Slam time:</b> This game was over at the 9:37 mark of the first quarter when Derrick Rose drove to the basket, was knocked to the floor by Orlando center Dwight Howard, and suffered a bruised right hip. The Magic led 41-17 after the first quarter, and it never got much closer.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Magic touch:</b> The Magic knocked down 11 of its first 13 shots, but shot just 46.8 percent for the game. The Bulls shot 36.8 percent from the field and were dominated on the boards 51-41.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Time for a break:</b> The Bulls will head into the all-star break with a 25-26 record. If Rose gets healthy, the schedule from here on is relatively soft.</p>

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<li><a href="/story/?id=358118">Rose would be 'honored' to make final USA roster<span class="date"> [2/10/10]</span></a></li>

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