With under four minutes left in the third quarter, Derrick Rose was making a back cut, landed awkwardly on his right leg, and was soon out of the game with trainers huddled around him.
Then as if it was the nightmare of the 2012 playoffs all over again, Rose was helped off the bench before the fourth quarter could start, and brought back to the locker room.
The last time a scene like that played out for the Bulls, Rose’s left anterior cruciate ligament was shredded, and he missed 18 months of basketball.
“Again, I don’t want to speculate on what it is and what it might be, other than my concern for him,’’ Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We’re not sure,’’ Thibodeau said of the latest diagnosis. “[Portland’s] doctor looked at him. He’s scheduled to have an MRI [Sunday] when we get to L.A.’’