Sports

Rose sits with sore knee but Bulls defeat Wizards 83-81 in first NBA game in South America

Associated Press
Published | Updated

Chicago Bulls' Taj Gibson is blocked by Washington Wizards' Kevin Seraphin during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) (The Associated Press)

Chicago Bulls' Taj Gibson dunks the ball past Washington Wizards' Kevin Seraphin, center, and Trevor Booker, second from right, during the first half of an NBA preseason basketball game in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2013. (AP Photo/Felipe Dana) (The Associated Press)

Derrick Rose missed the first NBA game played in South America on Saturday, sitting out the Chicago Bulls' 83-81 victory over the Washington Wizards with soreness in his surgically repaired left knee.

His absence disappointed a sellout crowd of 13,635 at the HSBC Arena in Rio — the gymnastics venue at the 2016 Olympics.

Without Rose, the Bulls got 18 points from Taj Gibson and 14 from Luol Deng. Bradley Beal led Washington with 16.

Chicago is 3-0 in the preseason and Washington is 0-2.

Rose had played two preseason games without any sign of problems, but the knee flared up Friday in practice. There was no immediate indication of the seriousness of the injury, or whether it was just a case of Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau being cautious.