(670 The Score) Bulls big man Lauri Markkanen exited early in the third quarter of Chicago's 123-119 loss at Orlando on Friday evening with a right shoulder sprain and didn't return.
Markkanen exited just 90 seconds into the third quarter, but he appeared to suffer the injury in the first quarter when he collided with Magic forward Gary Clark while driving to the hoop. Markkanen quickly expressed discomfort and later exited before returning for his regular rotation for the remainder of the first half. Markkanen had 13 points and five rebounds on 5-of-9 shooting before leaving the game for good.
Coach Billy Donovan expects Markkanen to be sidelined when the Bulls and Magic play once again Saturday. Beyond that, the Bulls are hoping for the best.
"Unlikely for tomorrow is what I got from the medical staff," Donovan said postgame. "Probably too early to tell. It is a shoulder. We'll probably find out maybe more tomorrow (and) when we get back to Chicago and some imaging is taken, but I don't have anything really more than that."
Markkanen has an injury history that's longer than he'd like, as he missed 30 games in 2018-'19, most of them because of a serious elbow sprain to start that season. He missed 15 games in 2019-'20, mostly because of a pelvis injury.
Markkanen is off to a strong start this season, averaging 19.6 points on 51.1% shooting in 13 games entering play Friday. He missed a stretch of games in the NBA's health and safety protocols.
