The Indiana Pacers got there record back to .500 at 3-3 with a 111-94 win over the Chicago Bulls Saturday night. It was the Bulls 3rd loss in a row and put the Bulls at 3-3 also. It was also the Bulls second loss in as many days as they dropped a 117-104 game to the New York Knicks on Friday night. After getting out of the gate 3-0 the Bulls have now lost 3 straight games. The Bulls looked weary right from the start of the game as they managed just 15 1st quarter points and found themselves down by 16 points 31-15 at the end of that quarter. Indiana actually closed the 1st quarter on a 9-1 run to pull away. Indiana had another 31 point quarter in the 2nd, but the Bulls played better and managed to put up 28 points in the 2nd quarter. The Pacers went into halftime with a 62-43 point lead. Neither team played great in the 3rd quarter, but there was some excitement late in the quarter when Paul George of the Pacers kicked the basketball into the stands with 1:42 left in the 3rd quarter and was ejected. George appeared to be upset about a non-call on a Pacers offensive possession and then he was whistled for a foul on the Bulls next possession. The Pavers where up 20 points when George was ejected. Indiana added 5 points to it’s lead as they scored 26 points in the 3rd quarter to the Bulls 21. With a 24 point lead going into the 4th quarter at 88-64 and Pacers where able to rest there starters. With the Pacers starters out of the game the Bulls where able to shave 7 points off the Indiana lead, but never seriously threatened. The Bulls had a 30 point 4th quarter to the Pacers 23 point quarter, but that wasn’t enough as the game ended with the Pacers getting the 111-94 victory.
Jeff Teague was the high scorer in the game with 21 points for the Pacers. Myles Turner had 16 points, Paul George out up 13 points and a team high 7 rebounds before his ejection while Thaddeus Young had 12 points. The only Pacers starter to not score in double figures was Monta Ellis, but he handed out a game high 8 assists. C.J. Miles scored 20 points off the Pacers bench while former Bull Aaron Brooks also came off the Pacers bench to hit double digits with 10 points.
Jimmy Butler and Bobby Portis (off the bench) each had 16 points for the Bulls. Robin Lopez had 12 points while Doug McDermott came off the Bulls bench to score 12 points as well. Taj Gibson had a game high 12 rebounds and just missed a double-double with 9 points. After his 35 point effort last night Dwayne Wade played just 22 minutes against the Pacers. Wade went 1 for 9 from the field and scored 4 points.
The 3-3 Pacers head out on the road as they’ll face the 4-1 Charlotte Hornets on Monday. The 3-3 Bulls will get to head back to Chicago as they’ll host the 3-3 Orlando Magic on Monday.
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