Derrick Rose felt good before the game, was walking without a limp and declared himself healthy enough to return to the starting lineup after missing four straight games with a foot/ankle injury.

"It feels like a regular ankle sprain now," Rose said. "My tendons aren't sore like they were on previous days. I'm feeling all right."

Rose doesn't normally tape his ankles but wears braces instead. He had his ankle taped before he last played Sunday against the Pistons and it has been suggested that that may have contributed to him re-aggravating his ankle, although coach Tom Thibodeau has denied that.

"I wouldn't say that," Rose said when asked if taping his ankle caused a problem. "Just playing, getting my minutes back, over time, playing the way that I play, perhaps it had to do with more than the tape."

Rose did say he would wear an ankle brace instead of having his ankle taped against the Mavs.