Bulls

Before the Bulls tangled with the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night at Staples Center, someone in the L.A. media asked Lakers coach Phil Jackson if the so-called circus trip was around when he was the coach of the Bulls. ‘‘Oh, yeah, there was the ice-skating trip and the circus trip,’’ Jackson said. ‘‘Two weeks around Thanksgiving the circus comes in, and then the ice-skating show comes in the spring.’’

Backup center Aaron Gray, who hasn't played this season because of a stress fracture in his lower left leg, was hospitalized Monday because of fluid buildup in his right knee. After being examined by a Bulls physician, Gray was admitted to the hospital so the antibiotics used to treat the condition could be administered intravenously. Gray was expected to be released from the hospital by this morning. ''He's feeling better,'' coach Vinny Del Negro said before the Bulls played the Sacramento Kings late Tuesday. ''Hopefully, he'll be on the trip sometime. Not exactly sure when he'll be on the trip, but he's feeling better, and they got some of the redness out.''