Josh Giddey
Getty
Josh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls.
Late in the third quarter of the Chicago Bulls‘ loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, Josh Giddey suffered a sprained right ankle.
Giddey exited the game and went back to the locker room, but he was able to return early in the fourth quarter and play through the injury. He finished with 14 points, nine rebounds, nine assists, one steal and two blocks on 5-for-12 shooting.
It wasn’t enough to prevent the Bulls’ 116-108 defeat at the hands of the Shai Gilgeous-Alexander-less Thunder team. It has been a rough time in Chicago after a really good start to the season.
The Bulls have now lost 15 of their last 17 games since January 26. They are 25-37 and are sitting 12th in the East standings. They still have a shot at the play-in spots and are just six games behind the tenth-seeded Atlanta Hawks.
Giddey Shares Update on His Injury
Speaking to reporters after the game, Giddey was first asked about how his right ankle was feeling. The Aussie guard explained that the injury wasn’t too bad, but he’ll know more in the next few days since his adrenaline was still pumping.
“The initial pain is always pretty, it feels bad, but when I got up and started moving around, I realized it wasn’t as bad as I originally thought,” Giddey said. “Tried to get back in the game, play, move as best I could. I guess we’ll see how it pulls up tomorrow.”
Giddey added that the Bulls’ medical team treated his ankle injury in the locker room after exiting in the third quarter. He also had fun in the game since he reunited with his former Thunder teammates.
How Did Giddey’s Injury Happen?
Josh Giddey
GettyJosh Giddey of the Chicago Bulls.
With more than a minute left in the third quarter, the Bulls had possession and were down 86-74. Giddey missed a floater and tried to grab the offensive rebound. He had to battle Jaylin Williams, who batted the ball to Bulls swingman Julian Phillips.
Giddey went up with Jaylin, but Kenrich Williams was also trying to get the ball. He landed on Kenrich’s foot and twisted his right ankle. He immediately grabbed his ankle before getting back up since the possession was still live.
There was a noticeable limp when he went into the corner to rest and eventually missed a wide-open 3-point shot. Nick Richards grabbed the offensive rebound and was fouled by Jaylin to send him to the free-throw line.
That’s when coach Billy Donovan subbed Giddey out so that the team’s medical staff could take a look at his right ankle.
Things Went From Bad to Worse
Matas Buzelis replaced Giddey with under a minute left in the third quarter. Things went from bad to worse for the Bulls because Buzelis went down with a sprained right ankle on the next possession.
Aaron Wiggins missed a 3-point shot, and Buzelis tried to go after the rebound. He ran through to the middle and stepped on Kenrich’s foot, the same foot that Giddey stepped on a few seconds earlier.
Coach Donovan told reporters after the game that they had to pull out Buzelis for the entire fourth quarter as a precaution. Both Buzelis and Giddey are scheduled to get tested on Wednesday morning.