Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis Injured in Bulls' 116-108 Loss to Thunder

The Bulls unsurprisingly fell to the defending champion Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night, but the team's biggest loss was not on the scoreboard.

Josh Giddey and Matas Buzelis — the two remaining building blocks from Chicago's trade deadline teardown — both left Tuesday's 116-108 defeat with injuries in the third quarter. Each member of the young duo was diagnosed with a right ankle sprain and will be evaluated further on Wednesday.

Giddey returned to the court after stretching out his right ankle and played five-and-a-half minutes down the stretch. Buzelis similarly stretched out his right ankle on the bench, but with the score out of reach for Chicago, the Bulls' second-year forward did not re-enter the game.

Collin Sexton led the way for the Bulls with 20 points in the loss, while Guerschon Yabusele finished with an 18-point, 12-rebound double-double. Giddey was one rebound short of his ninth triple-double of the season.

Jared McCain scored 20 points off the bench for OKC. Isaiah Joe (19 points), Aaron Wiggins (18), Cason Wallace (17) and Jaylin Williams (17) all chipped in solid performances as well.

The defeat dropped the Bulls to 25-37 on the season, marking their 15th loss in the last 17 games. Oklahoma City advanced to a league-best 48-15.

Eleven of Chicago's 17 shots to begin the game were three-pointers, but just two found the bottom of the net. That shooting inefficiency led to a 15-3 Thunder run, with the champs opening up a double-digit lead in the first quarter.

A pair of Sexton triples helped the Bulls rein OKC back in, though, and Yabusele became a one-man wrecking crew in the second period. The French forward connected from downtown twice and threw down a vicious one-handed slam as Chicago pulled within one point.

Oklahoma City appeared primed to take a 55-52 lead into the break, but Sexton had other plans. The veteran guard raced the length of the floor in four seconds before laying a shot in at the buzzer. Sexton's 11 points, capped off by his basket as time expired, ensured the Bulls entered halftime down by only one.

Giddey and McCain traded three-pointers in the third period, with each guard knocking down three shots apiece. However, McCain's teammates offered him more supplementary scoring, and Oklahoma City extended its lead to as much as 13.

Disaster then struck the Bulls. Within a minute, Giddey and Buzelis both hobbled to the locker room after going down with injuries at the end of the third quarter.

Oklahoma City maintained a double-digit margin for almost the entire fourth quarter until a late run by Chicago's reserves narrowed the difference. Sexton, Leonard Miller and Nick Richards led a 15-2 run that made it a six-point game, but the Thunder closed out the win at the free-throw line.

The Bulls now head into a five-game road trip on the West Coast, in which they will hope to get back several injured members of their rotation.