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DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose didn't participate in the morning shootaround Tuesday, but returned to the lineup for Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.
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Rose started on Tuesday and showed no noticeable limp early. He scored a team-leading 25 points in 30 minutes as the Bulls closed out the series with a 116-89 win.
He said Tuesday morning he had more motion in his sprained left ankle.
"It feels totally different," said Rose, who had declared Monday that he'd "definitely" play. "Where [Monday] it was a little stiff, today I've got more motion in it. I know the excitement from the game is going to make everything feel all right."
The Bulls initially listed Rose as questionable because of the injury he suffered Saturday in the Game 4 loss to the Indiana Pacers.
"He's feeling better," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said after shootaround. "We'll see how he is before the game. He didn't go through practice, but he's doing some shooting now."
Rose was shooting free throws when the media was let in after the shootaround, and he was wearing an extra brace on his sprained left ankle. He said he may not need a painkilling injection before the game.
"I really don't know," Rose said. "I really don't need it right now. I really don't like shots, but we will have to see.
"I know when I'm out there, I'm not going to think about it. I'm just going to play the game, and I should be able to knock down some shots today."
Before leaving Saturday's game with 1:02 remaining in the first quarter, Rose had seven points. He finished with 15 and was just 1-for-9 from 3-point range. He was 3-for-16 from the field in the final three quarters as the Bulls lost 89-84.
Rose said it's important to close out the series.
"Definitely this game is big because it's our next game, but getting rest, it means a lot," Rose said. "We could definitely use it.
"It's very important [to get off to a strong start]. If anything, I think that if we come out tonight and be aggressive, I think that it should take care of everything. We haven't jumped on them yet, and when we did, we only were up four or six points. So I think if we get a nice cushion, we should be good."
Nick Friedell covers the Bulls for ESPNChicago.com and ESPN 1000.
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