Rose-less Bulls resume trip against Clippers

(SportsNetwork.com) - It's deja vu all over again for Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls.

Rose missed all of last season while recovering from a torn ACL in his left knee and subsequent surgery, then received bad news on his injured right knee Saturday. An MRI revealed Rose sustained a medial meniscus tear in the Bulls' 98-95 loss at Portland on Friday and he will need surgery.

The former NBA MVP is out indefinitely and will not accompany the team on the rest of its current road trip, according to a press release. Rose averaged 15.9 points, 4.3 assists and 3.2 rebounds in 10 games for Chicago, which will resume its six-game road trip Sunday against the Los Angeles Clippers.

Chicago opened the trip with a loss at Denver and followed that by dropping a 98-95 decision to Portland on Friday. Rose left the game after almost 28 minutes of action and scored a team-high 20 points. Luol Deng had 15 points and 14 rebounds, while Carlos Boozer scored 16 points in the loss, the Bulls' second in a row since a five-game win streak.

"Teams are playing harder than us. When teams make a run, we're all over the place. We're not disciplined. Everybody is frustrated," Bulls center Joakim Noah said. "Everybody is screaming at the refs instead of just focusing on the next task at hand."

Kirk Hinrich and Mike Dunleavy will be Chicago's primary backcourt and scored 13 and 11 points, respectively, against the Blazers.

The Bulls still have Utah, Detroit and Cleveland to play on the trip and are just 1-5 on the road as opposed to a 5-0 home record. They hope to hold the high-scoring Clippers at bay and have allowed 81 points or less in five of the six wins this season.

Los Angeles opened a three-game homestand with Saturday's 103-102 victory over the Sacramento Kings, as Chris Paul buried clutch shots down the stretch to lead his team to victory. Paul tied the game at 98-98 on an arching 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining and later sank 1-of-2 free throws for the final margin.

The Clippers then held on defensively at the other end and center DeAndre Jordan blocked big man DeMarcus Cousins' turnaround jumper at the buzzer. Paul finished with 22 points and nine assists, and had recorded a double-double in 13 straight contests.

"Even though I'm mad that I missed the free throw, it was kind of fitting that we won the game with a defensive stop because we've been trying to get better defensively," Paul said.

Jordan had 17 points and 12 rebounds, while Blake Griffin added 16 and 10 in a winning effort. L.A. has won six of eight games and improved its home record to 6-1. New York will visit Staples Center on Wednesday.

Sunday's game was supposed to feature two of the top point guards in Rose against Paul. But now it appears Paul should thrive running the point with Rose banged up once again.

The Clippers took both meetings with the Bulls last season and are 5-2 in the past seven matchups in this series.