CHICAGO (AP) — The Chicago Bulls lost their top two scorers — guards Coby White and Josh Giddey — to injuries in Monday night’s game against the Minnesota Timberwolves.
White, Chicago’s leading scorer, exited with a right calf strain in the first quarter after playing 6 minutes and 35 seconds. He was ruled out for the rest of the game at halftime.
Guard Josh Giddey, Chicago’s second-leading scorer, walked off the court gingerly with an apparent left
hamstring injury in the first minute of the second half. He also was ruled out for the remainder of the contest after coming on in the second quarter to score 11 points.
The Bulls were already playing without center Zach Collins, who will probably miss several games with a sprained right big toe, coach Billy Donovan said before Monday’s game.
White, who entered averaging 20.5 points, missed the first 11 games this season with similar calf injury.
Giddey came in averaging 19.5 points, 9.2 assists and 9.1 rebounds. He ranks second in the NBA with seven triple-doubles.
The 6-foot-11 Collins sat out the first 21 games of the season with a fractured bone (scaphoid) in his left wrist, but has come on strong off the bench in 10 games since returning.
He is averaging 9.7 points and 5.6 rebounds per game and scored in double figures in six straight.
Starting center Nikola Vucevic and Collins are listed as the tallest Bulls players. They've given Chicago a double-big lineup, helping the team win five straight and climb back to .500 before a loss to Milwaukee on Saturday dropped them to 15-16.
“Obviously coming out of the wrist injury break, him coming back, I think he made a pretty significant impact that allowed us to play big,” Donovan said. “Just his physicality, his rebounding, some of the things he did screen-wise really helped us.”
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