Chicago Bulls rookie forward Nicola Mirotic is questionable for Game 3 Thursday at Milwaukee with a strained left quadriceps.
Mirotic, who was second in the NBA in fourth-quarter scoring to Russell Westbrook of the Oklahoma City Thunder in the final 30 days of the season at 6.9 points, limped to the bench after a skirmish with Zaza Pachulia in the fourth quarter. What looked to be knee-to-knee contact before Mirotic went to the floor likely led to a bruise.
CBS Sports’ Ken Berger cited a league source on Tuesday in a report that the injury is not believed to involve ligament damage. Mirotic will be re-evaluated on Tuesday and his availability for Game 3 is likely to be determined at game time.
“It will probably get even more physical,” Bulls center Joakim Noah said. “We just have to be ready for that.”
If Mirotic is not available, the Bulls would be forced to go with a smaller lineup and either Tony Snell or Doug McDermott, who did not play in the first two games of the series.
