With Gusto and a Few Hiccups, Rose Makes an Electric Return to the Court

INDIANAPOLIS — Minutes before Saturday’s preseason game between the Chicago Bulls and the Indiana Pacers, Derrick Rose emerged from the tunnel at Bankers Life Fieldhouse to a rousing cheer. A large contingent of Chicago fans, many seated behind the Bulls’ bench, had made the three-hour drive to see Rose’s return to the court 526 days after he tore his anterior cruciate ligament in the first round of the 2012 playoffs.

Just ahead of tip-off, Bulls General Manager Gar Forman took a seat among them. There was no shortage of people wanting a close look at Rose.

Rose, the N.B.A.’s most valuable player in 2010-11, provided glimpses of the player he was before the injury, scoring 13 points in 20 minutes. He also showed the rust, committing four turnovers.

“I felt great, I felt normal,” Rose said. “That’s the way I’ve been playing in practice, just trying to get my timing back. It’s coming to me, but it’s coming slowly.”

Rose started the game at point guard, and scored his first basket after he drove the lane and missed the shot but he grabbed the rebound and scored. A good portion of the crowd of 15,273, appearing evenly split between Bulls and Pacers supporters, rose to its feet.

Rose played for three stretches — 7 minutes 2 seconds to start the first quarter, 8:31 to finish the second and another 5:13 to begin the third. He finished 5 for 12 from the field, and added two rebounds and three assists in the Bulls’ 82-76 win.

At Chicago’s media day in September, Rose promised he would remain aggressive. He said he would attack the lane and the rim with the same gusto that defined his game before his injury.

Rose was true to his word Saturday, displaying his electric quickness on several drives to the basket. On back-to-back plays in the second quarter, he dribbled down the floor, beat the Pacers’ defense and scored on layups. In the third quarter, he stole the ball and broke away for a dunk.

Rose also responded well to contact. On a first-half possession, he beat his defender off the dribble and skied toward the basket only to be met by Indiana center Roy Hibbert. Rose crashed to the ground, banging his knee and his head, but he bounced right to his feet.

“You see how he makes the game easier for everybody, and the speed in which he plays,” Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau said. “Some rust, but that’s to be expected. You could see as each minute went by, he got more and more comfortable.”

There were also a handful of hiccups. On two consecutive possessions in the second quarter, Rose committed turnovers. The first was a lazy pass at the top of the key that Lance Stephenson intercepted. The next play, Rose threw the ball into the stands looking for a cutting teammate. He nearly committed a third the next time down the court when he lost control of the ball on a drive before recovering.

“I just got to get my feet under me; on certain plays, slow down,” Rose said. “Turnovers were big tonight because I was going too fast.”

With Bulls fans out in force and the return of Pacers forward Danny Granger, who missed much of last season with a knee injury of his own, there was a buzz at the arena atypical of an October preseason game. Pacers Coach Frank Vogel joked before the game that it was the most important preseason game in league history.

In his year and a half away from the court, Rose, a Chicago native, said he had grown up. He studied film, watched games and trained better. He also became a father. For much of his basketball career, Rose’s success seemed to come so naturally: high school state championships, a trip to the N.C.A.A. finals in his one year at Memphis and instantly a hometown star with the Bulls.

That changed with his devastating injury.

After Saturday’s game, a crush of reporters surrounded Rose at his locker.

“I appreciate it,” he said of his return. “I feel blessed to back.”