CHICAGO, Feb. 12 (UPI) -- The Chicago Bulls Thursday placed Scottie Pippen on the injured list for the second time this season.
Pippen missed the team's last three games with soreness in his troublesome left knee. He underwent arthroscopic surgery on the knee Dec. 12 and was sidelined for a month. He played in 11 games after returning but continued to experience pain in the knee.
In his second stint with the Bulls, Pippen has appeared in just 23 games, starting six. He is averaging 5.9 points, 3.0 rebounds and 2.2 assists.
The 6-8 Pippen also underwent a similar procedure last March, when he was with the Portland Trail Blazers. He spent the past four seasons with Portland and missed an average of 19 games due to injury over the previous three campaigns.
One of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players, Pippen has averaged 16.1 points, 6.3 rebounds and 5.1 assists in 1,178 games. He is a seven-time All-Defensive Team member and seven-time All-Star, winning All-Star Game MVP honors in 1994.
The Bulls activated forward Chris Jefferies to replace Pippen on the roster. Acquired on December 1 in a six-player trade with the Toronto Raptors, Jefferies is averaging 3.5 points in 15 games.
