PORTLAND, Ore. -- Derrick Rose injured his right knee Friday night and the Chicago Bulls star, who sat out last season following surgery on his other knee, did not return during a 98-95 loss to the streaking Portland Trail Blazers.
Wesley Matthews had a season-high 28 points and Damian Lillard added 20 to help the Trail Blazers run their winning streak to nine games.
Rose led the Bulls with 20 points, five rebounds and three assists but was assisted to the locker room with 3:20 remaining in the third quarter. The 2011 NBA MVP tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during the 2012 playoffs and missed last season while recovering from surgery.
Carlos Boozer had 16 points and Luol Deng added 15 points and 14 rebounds for Chicago (see full recap).
Love, T-Wolves dominate Nets
MINNEAPOLIS -- Kevin Garnett had stepped on the court against his former franchise seven times. He had walked away a winner each time after imposing his unyielding will on the Minnesota Timberwolves.
All the past success didn't matter one bit Friday night. Garnett and the star-studded Brooklyn Nets are finding out their reputations will get them nowhere this season.
Kevin Love had 17 points, 16 rebounds and four assists in just 28 minutes, and the Timberwolves beat Garnett for the first time since he left Minnesota in a 111-81 victory over the woeful Nets on Friday night.
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Garnett finished with eight points and eight rebounds in 21 minutes and these aging, banged-up Nets were no match for the younger, faster Timberwolves. Mikhail Prokhorov's $190 million team has lost four in a row and seven of its last eight to fall to 3-9 (see full recap).
George scores 27, Pacers improve to 11-1
BOSTON -- The Boston Celtics played a sloppy second half and the Indiana Pacers made them pay.
Down by eight points at halftime, the Pacers charged back for a 97-82 win Friday night behind 27 points from Paul George to improve the best record in the Eastern Conference.
Indiana (11-1) trailed at halftime in nine of its games. Its latest comeback was helped by Boston's 16 turnovers in the second half, leading to 23 points.
"Our starters, as a unit, have a gear defensively that they can reach that's pretty special," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "They hit that in the third and took control of the game."
The Pacers shut down Jordan Crawford after he made all eight of his field goal attempts and scored 19 points in the first half. He finished with a season-high 24 (see full recap).