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Warriors star guard Stephen Curry fell hard on his right hand on a drive to the basket in the first half of Golden State’s 138-96 win over Chicago on Friday and winced in pain for a few minutes but stayed in the game.

Curry said after scoring 19 points to help the Warriors to their most lopsided win of the season that he will get his hand looked at by the team’s medical staff, but he indicated he didn’t think it was serious.

“Anything that involves the hands, especially the right one, you’re a little concerned,” he said. “But the feeling came back, the strength came back. It hurts, but I’ll be all right.”

Curry said that at first it triggered flashbacks to when he suffered a broken left hand after a hard fall at the beginning of the 2019-20 season.

“I have some PTSD from two years ago,” he said. “When I landed it felt kind of the same, but we’ll get it looked at and figure it out. Should be all right.”

Curry is averaging 26.4 points, 5.5 rebounds, 6.1 assists and 1.6 steals for the Warriors.

The Warriors, meanwhile, rested guard Klay Thompson as planned after he played 20 minutes at Milwaukee in his third game back. They plan to “bump him up a little bit” when they visit Minnesota on Sunday, coach Steve Kerr said. The five-time All-Star missed 2 1/2 years because of a torn anterior cruciate ligament and an Achilles tendon injury.

Kerr is “hopeful” forward Draymond Green (left calf tightness) returns Tuesday when the Warriors host Detroit. Green missed his third consecutive game, and Kerr said it makes more sense to have him continue rehabbing in the Bay Area rather than join the team at Minnesota.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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CHICAGO — Bulls guard Zach LaVine exited Friday’s 138-96 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter with a left knee injury and did not return.

LaVine did not travel with the team to Boston for its matchup against the Celtics on Saturday night, and instead will remain in Chicago to receive an MRI. There’s initial confidence that he hasn’t suffered a serious injury, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

LaVine appeared to begin laboring after grabbing an offensive rebound with just under nine minutes remaining in the first quarter. On the next play, he took an intentional foul on Warriors guard Stephen Curry before taking himself out of the game.

He immediately walked toward the Bulls’ locker room with a team trainer, but LaVine was able to move under his own power.

“The MRI will tell a lot more once he gets that done,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said after the game. “I don’t want to sit here and speculate … he kind of came down a little funny, and he’s got some discomfort there right now and they want to take a look. He didn’t feel like he could return.”

Chicago has had its depth tested recently without guard Alex Caruso (health and safety), Derrick Jones Jr. (knee), Javonte Green (groin) and Tyler Cook (ankle).

LaVine is averaging 25.6 points on 49% shooting (41% from 3), 4.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 37 games for the Bulls this season.

The Warriors took over following LaVine’s injury, closing the first half on a 64-37 run. The Bulls lost by 42 points on Friday after losing by 26 points to the Nets on Wednesday. It’s the first time a conference leader has lost consecutive games by an average of 30 points since the NBA went to two conferences in 1970, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.

“These two games should be all the motivation that we need to step up, play hard, play for one another,” Bulls star DeMar DeRozan said. “It’s just another challenge that we got to face. We can’t complain about it. Can’t whine about it. Can’t look for no extra help. It’s on us.”

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There’s initial confidence from the Bulls that Zach LaVine hasn’t suffered a serious injury, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.Read More

St. Ignatius’s Richard Barron (23) smiles as the first half against Mount Carmel ends. | Allen Cunningham/For the Sun-Times

Scores, highlights and analysis from Friday’s top games.

When Joe Henricksen filed his Weekend Forecast last night I took a quick look at it and figured he had definitely picked the Bartlett-East Aurora game wrong. I’ve seen both teams this season and thought that the Tomcats were at least 10 points better than Bartlett.

I clearly did not account for the impact the big man has on the game. Conrad Luczynski, Bartlett’s 7-3 senior, posted a triple double with 25 points, 15 rebounds, 13 blocked shots and five assists. That’s one heck of a game.

In related news, the last kid that colleges ignored from the Upstate Eight, John Konchar, did this against the Timberwolves on Thursday: 15 points on 6 of 7 shooting, 17 rebounds and three assists in 29 minutes.

The idea that there is no room at any Division 1 college for Luczynski because “the game has changed” and every lousy college team is now the Golden State Warriors is pretty hilarious.

It will be interesting to follow Luczynski the rest of the season. I was impressed with him as a player when I went out so see him last month but I wasn’t so convinced by his team. They have clearly improved.

Friday’s top games

Sierra Canyon, CA 81, Young 49: According to Twitter this one was close for about a quarter. It will be interesting to see if Simeon is ready for this juggernaut in a few weeks. Amari Bailey led Sierra Canyon with 20 and Bronny James had six points. Dalen Davis had 14 for Young. Xavier Amos and AJ Casey each scored nine.

Thornton 60, Thornwood 59: Ty Rodgers puts the Wildcats on his back. The Illinois recruit had 24 points and 19 rebounds.

Oak Forest 60, Tinley Park 45: Robbie Avila became the school’s all-time leading scorer tonight. He had 22 points and seven rebounds. Fred Robinson add 12 points. Tony Webb led the Titans with 19. I was pretty high on Oak Forest after the Team Rose Classic. Probably time to give them a Super 25 look again.

Hillcrest 67, TF South 47: The Hawks cruise behind a balanced effort. Isaiah Green, Marcus Glover, Darrion Baker and Bryce Tillery all scored double figures. Hillcrest hasn’t been getting much attention lately. Everyone expected them to win the Big Dipper. That was definitely a disappointment, but don’t forget that Glenbard West game. The Hawks have massive upside. This isn’t a very experienced team and they could be a load by March.

Farragut 67, Schurz 47: A triple-double for Jonathan Calmese. The young guard had 25 points, 10 rebounds and 10 assists. Justin Pickens scored 18.

Solorio 62, Kennedy 45: Highly-regarded guard Donovan Jones had 29 points, seven rebounds and five assists. Jeremy Hall added 13 points and 13 rebounds.

Glenbard West 64, Oak Park 40: There’s an old cliche that your conference opponents are the toughest games because they know you best. That is not the case with the Hilltoppers. Braden Huff scored 23 and Cade Pierce added 14.

Lane 65, Lincoln Park 51: Nice win for [insert new nickname we are waiting on here]. Sophomore Shaheed Solebo has flashed some nice potential this season when I’ve seen him. He had a career-high 20 points. Sean Molloy added 15 points, six rebounds and four assists. Lane is 3-1 in conference.

Austin 64, Collins 55: Check out Ty Freeman’s stat line: 37 points, nine rebounds and six assists.

North Lawndale 54, Westinghouse 51: The Phoenix are starting to string together some victories. Jemarje Windfield had another big game with 17 points and five assists. Vince Mayes added nine points, eight rebounds and seven blocks.

Bolingbrook 83, Homewood-Flossmoor 82: I read the Herald-News game story by Steve Soucie on this one. There were 60 fouls. Oh my. I’ve sat through a few of those. I’m permanently scarred from a Crane-Farragut game where I counted nearly 70. Donaven Younger had a big game with 21 points and 14 rebounds and Danny Walker had 15 points and nine boards. Mekhi Cooper added 18. The Raiders’ losing streak is over.

Leo 70, Marmion 54: The Lions were led by Cam Cleveland with 18 points. Keeland Jordan added 14 points and eight rebounds. Marmion has been feisty so far this season.

Huntley 68, Dundee-Crown 62 4 OT: Two teams that I’ve been keeping an eye on played a tremendous game tonight. Ben Ahmer had 20 points and six rebounds and Aiden Wieczorek added 18 points and four rebounds. Hopefully the schedule works out and I can catch the next game between Burlington Central and the Red Raiders.

Palatine 48, Hoffman Estates 43: Who can figure out the MSL West?

Momence 42, Beecher 38: Momence Watch takes down Beecher Watch. Haven Roberts scored 13 and James Stevenson added 12 points and nine rebounds. Momence is 15-1 and undefeated in the conference.

Lake Forest 39, Warren 38: This must have been a rough watch. The Scouts have been a bit up and down this season. But they escaped with a win.

Oswego East 59, Joliet West 57: I was following this on Twitter all night. Oswego East wins it on Patrick Robinson’s bucket with six seconds left. Sounds like it was a thriller. The Wolves are 20-1. The young Tigers are clearly improving quickly. They face Curie tomorrow.

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Zach LaVine’s spin move appeared awkward. A few seconds later, it went from awkward to flat-out concerning.

LaVine had grabbed a rebound three-plus minutes into the Bulls’ game Friday against the Warriors, spun to try to get out of trouble and felt something in his left knee that forced him to foul immediately so that he could stop the action and head straight to the locker room.

He eventually was ruled out for the rest of the game and was headed for an MRI exam, but the initial belief was that it was only further discomfort in the knee, which had been sore for a few games. It’s the same knee on which LaVine required surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament in February 2017.

Coach Billy Donovan ruled LaVine out of traveling to Boston for the start of a two-game trip Saturday, but he offered up little more than that.

”I don’t know how severe it is or isn’t,” Donovan said. ”I think the MRI will tell a lot [Saturday]. Before I speculate or guess, I just don’t know until he gets the MRI.”

LaVine’s injury left the Bulls facing a Warriors team that was without Draymond Green and Klay Thompson, and they turned in a second consecutive embarrassing performance. They followed up a lackluster second half Wednesday against the Nets with a full-game meltdown in a 138-96 loss to the Warriors in a second consecutive nationally televised game at the United Center.

The primary culprit against the Warriors was the lackluster defense, which allowed 37 points in the first quarter and 41 in the second.

Not only were the Bulls outscored 41-19 in the second quarter, but they turned the ball over seven times, allowed the Warriors to shoot 60.7% from the field, were outrebounded 14-6 and shot 1-for-7 from three-point range in the period.

The Bulls became the first team in NBA history to lead their conference and lose back-to-back home games by 25 points or more.

”It’s definitely a learning experience for us all on just what to expect,” veteran forward DeMar DeRozan said. ”We just got our butts kicked two [games] in a row, and now it’s about how we respond. We’re going to see what we’re made of.

”Nobody is going to come save the day; it’s on us. These two games should be all the motivation we need.”

As far as help coming before the trade deadline Feb. 10, Donovan wasn’t about to go there yet. He speaks with executive vice president of basketball operations Arturas Karnisovas and general manager Marc Eversley almost daily and said that all remained pretty quiet on that front so far.

”We kind of talked and evaluated our team with where we’re at, and I think Arturas has mentioned publicly that he’s going to do whatever he can do to help the group,” Donovan said. ”I have not gotten into specifics as it relates to players, the trade deadline. . . . His comment to me — Arturas — was: ‘Listen, as we get closer to this, we’ll fill you in.’ I didn’t get a sense that much was going on.

”I think Arturas is looking at all those things, but there’s been no, ‘Hey, we’ve got to do this now.’ As Arturas has mentioned, the chemistry on the team is really good. And I think with the chemistry being as good as it is, you want to make sure that whatever you’re doing that the chemistry continues moving forward.”

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CHICAGO — Bulls guard Zach LaVine exited Friday’s 138-96 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter with a left knee injury and did not return.

LaVine did not travel with the team to Boston for its matchup against the Celtics on Saturday night, and instead will remain in Chicago to receive an MRI. There’s initial confidence that he hasn’t suffered a serious injury, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

LaVine appeared to begin laboring after grabbing an offensive rebound with just under nine minutes remaining in the first quarter. On the next play, he took an intentional foul on Warriors guard Stephen Curry before taking himself out of the game.

He immediately walked toward the Bulls’ locker room with a team trainer, but LaVine was able to move under his own power.

“The MRI will tell a lot more once he gets that done,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said after the game. “I don’t want to sit here and speculate … he kind of came down a little funny, and he’s got some discomfort there right now and they want to take a look. He didn’t feel like he could return.”

Chicago has had its depth tested recently without guard Alex Caruso (health and safety), Derrick Jones Jr. (knee), Javonte Green (groin) and Tyler Cook (ankle).

LaVine is averaging 25.6 points on 49% shooting (41% from 3), 4.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 37 games for the Bulls this season.

The Warriors took over following LaVine’s injury, closing the first half on a 64-37 run. The Bulls lost by 42 points on Friday after losing by 26 points to the Nets on Wednesday. It’s the first time a conference leader has lost consecutive games by an average of 30 points since the NBA went to two conferences in 1970, according to research by ESPN Stats & Information.

“These two games should be all the motivation that we need to step up, play hard, play for one another,” Bulls star DeMar DeRozan said. “It’s just another challenge that we got to face. We can’t complain about it. Can’t whine about it. Can’t look for no extra help. It’s on us.”

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CHICAGO — Bulls guard Zach LaVine exited Friday’s 138-96 loss to the Golden State Warriors in the first quarter with a left knee injury and did not return.

LaVine will get an MRI on Saturday, but there’s initial confidence that he hasn’t suffered a serious injury, sources told ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski.

LaVine appeared to begin laboring after grabbing an offensive rebound with just under nine minutes remaining in the first quarter. On the next play, he took an intentional foul on Warriors guard Stephen Curry before taking himself out of the game.

He immediately walked toward the Bulls’ locker room with a team trainer, but LaVine was able to move under his own power.

LaVine is averaging 25.6 points on 49% shooting (41% from 3), 4.6 rebounds and 4.3 assists in 37 games for the Bulls this season.

The Bulls are already without guard Alex Caruso (health and safety), Derrick Jones Jr. (knee), Javonte Green (groin) and Tyler Cook (ankle).

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It would be an easy conclusion to draw, but it wouldn’t be an accurate one, Bulls coach Billy Donovan said.

Since Patrick Williams went down five games into the regular season and had surgery on his left wrist, the power-forward spot has been filled by one player after another.

Alex Caruso saw some time there but has been sidelined by a strained hamstring, a sprained foot and now by the NBA’s health-and-safety protocols. Javonte Green got the most playing time there with the starters, but he has been out with a groin injury. Derrick Jones Jr. was the latest to start there, only to suffer a bone bruise in his knee Wednesday that is expected to keep him out two weeks to a month.

So has going undersized at the position led to these smaller players breaking down while trying to guard bigger, stronger guys?

”I don’t think it has anything to do with that,” Donovan said. ”Alex planted wrong and sprained his foot. Derrick was going to the basket on a drive 35 seconds into the game and kind of had his knee. Javonte, the way his leg swung out . . . I don’t think they’re getting ‘beaten up,’ so to speak, by bigger guys than them. I don’t think that’s the reason why these guys have suffered injuries.”

Donovan and his staff had better hope it’s coincidence because they went undersized at that spot again Friday, starting Troy Brown Jr. against the Warriors. The versatile Brown is listed at 6-6 but has shown he can play in that spot this season.

The Bulls also have Alfonzo McKinnie on the bench, but there’s no questioning the lack of depth at that spot.

What can the Bulls do about it with their roster right now? Very little besides get healthy.

Caruso likely will be the first player coming back. Donovan said before the game that Caruso would stay back in Chicago for the Bulls’ upcoming two-city trip but could start working on his conditioning and be ready for the game against the Cavaliers in the middle of next week.

”He’s still in protocols,” Donovan said. ”He seems to be doing OK. He’s had some mild symptoms. But if you go back to Dec. 4, he tweaked his hamstring, and then [came] that foot sprain. [He] kind of got cleared to come back [but] tested positive [for COVID-19] . . . so he’s been in and out for a long period of time. I don’t think it’s going to be some long, prolonged thing for weeks, but clearly with this back-to-back he won’t be available.”

Williams on the mend?

It was a good sign to see Williams getting a workout in on the court at the United Center before the game against the Warriors, but Donovan quickly squashed that excitement.

”We’re trying to get him just a conditioning piece; he can do some of that,” Donovan said of Williams’ rehab process. ”He still has to be very, very careful with the [wrist] in terms of being around a lot of people. There is some form shooting they are allowing him to do. Just trying to get his movements back and trying to get him working on defense, cutting.

”That’s kind of the focus for him right now. He’s been cleared to do a lot of the cardiovascular stuff.”

Up Hill

The Bulls officially announced former Illinois forward Malcolm Hill had signed a 10-day contract after the team was allotted another hardship space on the roster.

The 6-6 Hill was called up from the G League, where he was averaging 16.8 points and 6.4 rebounds with Birmingham.

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Brian Flores was one of the hottest up-and-coming candidates in the NFL three years ago. And he still is.

Even after being surprisingly fired by the Dolphins on Monday, Flores’ stock is high. He’s only 40, he spent more than a decade learning under Bill Belichick and he made quick renovations after taking on a major fixer-upper in the Dolphins. Guys like this aren’t usually available, and Flores is one of the most coveted candidates available as a quarter of the league looks for new head coaches.

And the Bears had him in the building Friday.

Flores’ first interview was at Halas Hall, though the Texans and probably a couple other teams will join the pursuit.

That competition could strain the Bears’ desire to hire their general manager first and bring him into the process for choosing a coach. Flores is available immediately, as opposed to current coordinators coaching in the playoffs, so any team ready to make a decision would force the Bears to declare themselves in or out quickly.

That would be especially complicated in Flores’ case.

He is widely considered to have overachieved considering that the Dolphins opened his tenure by stripping their roster as much as possible to bring in future assets, so why would they send him out the door?

Dolphins owner Stephen Ross said, “Key dynamics of our football organization weren’t functioning at a level I want,” and given that he retained general manager Chris Grier, it’s pretty obvious those two weren’t collaborating — to borrow the Bears’ favorite word — very well.

When pressed on how Flores managed relationships within the building, from Ross and Grier at the top to young quarterback Tua Tagovailoa, Ross responded tellingly by first declining to comment on it but then adding, “different people rub people different ways.”

The South Florida Sun Sentinel reported there was an explosive confrontation between Flores and Tagovailoa at halftime in Week 17.

None of that should preclude any team from hiring Flores, but it seems imprudent to do so without a general manager already in place to have some input on how the two would work together. It’s fine for a coach to have a somewhat edgy personality, and the Bears might have a taste for that demeanor after failing with Matt Nagy’s “Friday Night Lights” style. The Bears just need to make sure it’s not so far in that direction that it leads to dysfunction.

Flores, for example, burned through four offensive coordinators and two defensive coordinators in just three seasons. He fired his first offensive line coach one week into training camp. He opted for an ill-fated setup of co-offensive coordinators last season.

But Bears chairman George McCaskey indicated someone like Flores might fit the hardnosed attitude he and advisor Bill Polian hope to find.

“They don’t have to like him, they don’t have to love him, but they respect him,” McCaskey said, referring to a principle in one of Polian’s books. “So the primary quality we’ll be looking for in both the general manager and the head coach is leadership.”

Despite his flaws, Flores turned one of the NFL’s worst defenses into a respectable unit. Unlike Nagy, he delivered in his supposed area of expertise.

The Dolphins were bottom-six in points allowed the two seasons before his arrival and dead last in his first season. He took them to sixth in 2020 and 16th last season.

“Flo is intense and he gets after you when you’re not doing your job, and that’s what a coach does,” offensive tackle Jesse Davis said. “Some days you may not want to hear it, but most days that’s what you needed to hear. The guys in the building responded pretty well to it, or they wouldn’t have been there.”

Linebacker Jerome Baker added, “We all believed in Flo. He was a great coach. A great guy. And we definitely trusted him.”

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