CHICAGO -- Joakim Noah revealed after Tuesday night's Game 5 loss against the Washington Wizards that he has been dealing with a left knee injury. The Chicago Bulls' All-Star center did not specify exactly what the injury was, or when he sustained it, but he did say he was going to have it looked at again by the team's medical staff now that the season is over.
"My knee is bothering me," Noah said. "My left knee. I'm not sure what it is, but I was able to play today. I think I was limited a little bit. But it's no excuses. I'll check it out, find out what's wrong, take care of it. Now we got a lot of time to take care of it."
Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau admitted that Noah's knee injury has been lingering for a while. He was noticeably laboring up and down the floor throughout the game and didn't have much lift when he jumped.
"His knee has bothered him for a while," Thibodeau said. "Probably the whole second half of the year. We will have it checked out and see where he is."
The bad news didn't stop there for the Bulls. Taj Gibson injured his left ankle during the fourth quarter and never returned to the game. He rolled it badly on Wizards' guard John Wall's foot and had to be helped off the floor.
"Real painful," Gibson said. "Just got to see what they say [Wednesday]."
Gibson said X-rays were taken after the game and that his ankle was not broken.