Javonte Green got off to a rough start after the calendar change to 2022, missing 12 straight games as a result of a groin strain. However, the Chicago Bulls forward has done his best to make up for lost time since making a return to the hardwood on January 24.
Entering Sunday’s bout with the Blazers, Green was shooting 64.7% from the field during his comeback tour. However, he just had what may have been his best game in a Bulls uniform against CJ McCollum and Co.
In just 23 minutes of play, the third-year pro scored 16 points — his highest mark since moving to the Windy City — while hitting 6-of-9 shots, including two triples. He also added three boards, an assist, a steal and a block while posting a plus-15 in the plus/minus department. Meanwhile, the Bulls won the game 130-116.
However, his big night came to an abrupt end when he exited the contest early in the fourth quarter after having been in visible pain for multiple possessions. After the game, though, Bulls coach Billy Donovan gave an encouraging update on the big man.
Donovan Speaks on Green’s Sudden Exit
WOO goes the dynamite!
After a free-throw line collision with Blazers wing Ben McLemore, Green was pulled by Donovan during a timeout. There was, of course, an immediate concern about him being re-injured, be it his groin, a hamstring or something else.
However, the Bulls coach indicated the Green is probably OK.
“I think he got hit in the stomach, from what he said to me,” Donovan said during his postgame presser. “I didn’t talk to him after the game, but I think he just got hit in the ribs or the stomach there and I think he was fine to go back in and he said he was OK, but that’s what he was complaining about.”
As it stands, it seems that Bulls fans can breathe a sigh of relief for Green, who has started in 22 of his 33 appearances for the club this season.
In his second year with Chicago, the 28-year-old is averaging 6.0 points and 4.2 rebounds per game while shooting 51.4% from the floor and just over 32% from deep. His net rating of 7.0 is the second-best mark on the team (to Alex Caruso).
LaVine Passes a Bulls Legend in the Franchise Record Book
Although star guard Zach LaVine didn’t have one of his better outings on Sunday — he scored 20 points on 7-of-18 shooting and was 3-of-9 from deep — he did manage to make a move up the Bulls’ career leaderboards. And he passed a Bulls legend and one of the best players in NBA history in the process.
With his three triples, LaVine surpassed Scottie Pippen’s 664 threes in a Bulls uniform to take sole possession of the No. 3 spot in team history.
Kirk Hinrich remains Chicago’s leader in three-point field goals with 1,049 while Ben Gordon is second all-time with 770. Baby Bulls represent!
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Billy Donovan Gives an Update After Bulls’ Latest Injury Scare