Bulls' Dunn in concussion protocol, out indefinitely
After further evaluation, Chicago Bulls point guard Kris Dunn was placed in concussion protocol and will not make the trip to Atlanta for Saturday's game, the team announced Thursday.
Dunn was injured late in Wednesday's loss to Golden State when he lost his balance on a breakaway dunk and landed face-first onto the court. Dunn was bleeding from the mouth and walked to the locker room under his own power.
The Bulls said Dunn's two front teeth were dislocated in the fall and stabilized with braces. He's officially listed as out indefinitely.
Dunn got off to a slow start against the Warriors, hitting just 3 of 12 shots in the first three quarters. He led the Bulls' comeback in the fourth, though, scoring 9 of his 16 points.
The Bulls trailed by as many as 19 points. Dunn's dunk with 2:55 remaining cut the lead to 5, but the Bulls got no closer.
LaVine ready for more:
Zach LaVine's third game back from knee surgery didn't go as well as the first two. LaVine scored 5 points and hit 2 of 12 shots in the loss to Golden State, missing all five of his 3-point attempts.
"It's tough playing five minutes here, three minutes there," LaVine said after the game. "That's what I've had to deal with and that's fine. I'm extremely happy to be back out here playing again. I know the consistency will come when you start getting consistent minutes, so I'm looking forward to that."
When LaVine came back, coach Fred Hoiberg said the plan was to start with a 20-minute limit, then look to increase that total after three games. So he should be due to play more Saturday in Atlanta. LaVine said he feels good physically.
"Yeah, I haven't thought about anything," he said. "I feel like I've played free, haven't had any setbacks or anything I need to worry about. I still feel quick, explosive. I'm still able to dunk, you saw that tonight. Everything's good."
Nwaba delivers defense:
One interesting aspect of Wednesday's loss to Golden State was David Nwaba's defense. While Warriors star Steph Curry finished with 30 points on the night, Curry didn't score when Nwaba was in the game
Curry scored 25 of his 30 points in the early minutes of the first and second quarters before Nwaba checked in. The 6-foot-4 Nwaba had less success trying to slow down the taller Klay Thompson (38 points). After the game, Nwaba was asked about chasing Curry.
"Just don't fall asleep and know that he's always moving and it's important just to contest as much as I can," Nwaba said. "I just tried to contain him. He got a lot of good looks for the most part. It was a tough task."
The Bulls had their best success when the Warriors had subs on the floor. Nwaba, Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis were all at least plus-22 when they were on the floor.