NBA: Rockets say Chris Paul is ‘week-to-week’ with knee injury
The Houston Rockets may be without All-Star point guard Chris Paul for weeks because of an injured left knee.
Rockets coach Mike D’Antoni told reporters in Houston on Saturday that the team will hold Paul out until the knee is completely healed. The team has not offered any specifics on the injury, other than the knee is bruised.
D’Antoni said Paul’s status is “more week-to-week” than day-to-day, and that there’s no firm timetable for a return.
Paul labored through Houston’s season-opening win at Golden State on Tuesday. He didn’t play when the Rockets faced Sacramento on Wednesday. Houston plays its home opener Saturday night against Dallas.
Paul was traded to the Rockets by the Clippers over the summer.
Derrick Rose sidelined with sprained ankle
Cavaliers point guard Derrick Rose was held out of Saturday night’s game against the Orlando Magic because of a sprained left ankle.
Rose twisted his ankle after being fouled by Milwaukee’s Greg Monroe while driving to the basket in the fourth quarter on Friday. Monroe grabbed Rose by his neck and pulled him to the floor.
Rose landed awkwardly, but stayed in the game to shoot two free throws before going to the bench. The play was originally called a common foul but was upgraded to a flagrant 1 Saturday by the NBA.
Jose Calderon started at point guard Saturday for the Cavaliers, who have won their first two games.
Rose signed a one-year contract with Cleveland in July. He became the team’s starter when Kyrie Irving was traded to Boston. Rose was named the league’s MVP in 2011 while with the Chicago Bulls, but has battled injuries since.
Portis apologizes
Suspended Bulls forward Bobby Portis offered an apology to injured teammate Niko Mirotic on Saturday in his first public comments since punching Mirotic in the face in practice on Tuesday.
The fight cost the Bulls their top two power forwards. Mirotic suffered two fractured bones and a concussion and is expected to miss four to six weeks. Portis was suspended eight games.
Portis said before Chicago’s home opener against the Spurs that he has reached out to Mirotic but has not received a response.
“I’m wrong for what I did,” Portis said. “I want to publicly apologize to Niko. I feel like I let my fans, the Bulls organization and most importantly my teammates down. This is not who Bobby Portis is.
“Going forward, I want to make sure that me and Niko are cool and that we can be teammates again. I’m pretty sure we can. We just have to repair the relationship.”
More to Read
Go beyond the scoreboard
Get the latest on L.A.'s teams in the daily Sports Report newsletter.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.