DERRICK ROSE CONTINUED his comeback from a serious knee injury as the Chicago Bulls lost 85-81 to the Washington Wizards in pre-season.
After missing the entire 2012-13 NBA season as he recovered from reconstructive surgery to his left knee, Rose suffered a second knee injury in November last year.
The star point guard injured his right knee against the Portland Trail Blazers but he has since worked his way back to the court, featuring as United States won the FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain last month.
And Rose gave the Chicago public their first glimpse of him on home court in almost a year, playing 14 first-half minutes. Rose posted 11 points and four rebounds as he sat out the second half.
“It looked like he had a great rhythm,” said Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau. “That was very encouraging.”
Nikola Mirotic had a team-high 17 points, while new recruit Pau Gasol contributed eight points and eight rebounds. The triumphant Wizards were led by Glen Rice, who scored a game-high 18 points.
Marcin Gortat (13 points, 10 rebounds) and Bradley Beal (11 points) combined for 24 points. In other pre-season results, the Atlanta Hawks outscored the New Orleans Pelicans by 16 points in the first quarter to win 93-87.
John Jenkins had 13 points for the Hawks, while Jeff Teague and Mike Scott added 11 points each. Ryan Anderson posted 14 points and Jrue Holiday chipped in with 13 of his own.
Elsewhere, the Boston Celtics downed the Philadelphia 76ers 98-78 and the Los Angeles Lakers edged the Denver Nuggets 98-95.
