NEW YORK -- Chicago Bulls forward Luol Deng missed Game 7 against the Brooklyn Nets after being hospitalized and guard Kirk Hinrich also sat out with a bruised calf.
After the Bulls' 99-93 win, coach Tom Thibodeau wasn't sure if they'd be back in time to begin the next series against the Miami Heat.
"(They're) day to day," Thibodeau said. "We know how good Miami is so we're going to have to be at our best, playing great basketball. They're a very deep team, extremely well coached, very well balanced. So we're going to have to be at our best right from the start."
Deng tweeted on Thursday that he was taken to the emergency room on Wednesday and his symptoms indicated he might have meningitis, requiring him to undergo a spinal tap.
"As a result of the spinal tap I suffered the worst headache I've ever experienced and been the weakest I've ever felt," Deng tweeted. "Yesterday I was unable to walk or even get out of bed. I made it to the UC and was sent home. (Friday) morning my symptoms worsened."
He added that he was "the weakest I've ever felt" from a viral flu that forced him to miss a Game 6 loss and said symptoms worsened Friday morning, leading to a trip to the emergency room.
Deng's agent, Herb Rudoy, said that Deng has been released from the hospital and is resting comfortably at home. A source close to the situation also said that Deng had to undergo a separate procedure in relation to the spinal tap procedure to stop leaking spinal fluid. The Chicago Tribune earlier reported news of Deng's second procedure.
Earlier Saturday Hinrich was hopeful he'd be able to play in Game 7.
"Just get down there tonight and try to do a normal pregame routine and see how it goes," he said. "I'm going to do my best and evaluate it and my thinking on it is if there's any way, a chance, I could help I'm going to go out there and give it a go."
Deng worried that fans thought he was missing the game because of a simple case of the flu, which is going around the Bulls team. Nate Robinson said he was vomiting on the sidelines during Game 6.
"It really upsets me that everyone thinks I would miss a game bc of the flu. I've played a lot of games w the flu in my career," Deng tweeted on Friday afternoon.
Derrick Rose also missed Game 7 as he rehabs from ACL surgery.