Derrick Rose missed the New York Knicks' NBA loss to New Orleans on Monday night for reasons that remained unclear.
The Knicks would not comment on Rose's whereabouts or anything else about his absence, although centre Joakim Noah said after the game he had spoken to Rose and his long-time Chicago teammate was OK.
"Obviously, Derrick's one of our better players and, when he's not here it's tough, but just happy that everything is OK with him," Noah said.
Noah didn't provide any details of their conversation.
Rose practised with the team during their morning shootaround and coach Jeff Hornacek gave no indication shortly before the game that the point guard would not be available.
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Brandon Jennings started at the point, with the Knicks saying only that Rose was not with the team. Even New York players weren't aware of the details after the team's 110-96 loss to the Pelicans.
"We don't know what is going on," forward Kristaps Porzingis said. "I hope Derrick is fine. I have zero information about what is going on. So hopefully, they tell me something as soon as possible because this is ... weird and everybody is worried."
Rose has played in 33 of 37 games during his first season with the Knicks, averaging 17.3 points. He didn't play in the fourth quarters of their games at Milwaukee and Indiana last weekend, although Hornacek said those benchings weren't an issue.
Hornacek said the Knicks couldn't provide any further information until the team had heard from Rose, but said he expected the 2011 NBA MVP back at some point.
"Everything will become clear later on," Hornacek said. "We want to respect whatever he's going through and we're just not going to comment about it."
