Butler gets job done for Chicago Bulls in OT
Some would say the Indiana Pacers' special Hickory High uniforms, inspired by the 1986 film "Hoosiers," are ugly, with maroon shirts and gold pants.
Some would say the 1952-style basketball played by Hickory was ugly, with coach Norman Dale stressing five passes before shooting the ball.
Wednesday night's Chicago Bulls-Indiana Pacers game was as ugly as all of that for long stretches. But after rallying from a 7-point deficit in the final three minutes of regulation and blowing a 7-point lead in overtime, the Bulls beat Indiana 102-100 with one of the prettiest game-winners in the 50-year history of the franchise.
Jimmy Butler tapped a long alley-oop pass from Pau Gasol into the basket with 1.2 seconds left to break the tie. The Pacers tried to return the favor on the other end, but Butler broke up the alley-oop to Paul George as time expired.
"That's on Pau, a smart player," Butler said in the locker room. "A great player; he could have shot it, but he made the pass. That basket should be given to him."
An alley-oop wasn't the original plan, but Gasol said he told Doug McDermott, who threw the inbounds pass, to look for him at the top of the key if George overplayed Butler.
Gasol's lob pass was too far away from the rim for Butler to dunk it, and with George playing tight defense, Butler tapped the ball with his right hand and put it into the basket from about four feet away.
"That's exactly how I drew it up," coach Fred Hoiberg joked. "The play was designed first for Jimmy. If he didn't have it, then Pau was going to pop open, then Jimmy just made a heck of a cut back door. That was just a heck of a pass and an unbelievable finish by two guys who know how to play."
Trailing by 7 with less than three minutes left, the Bulls kept battling on a tough offensive night and evened the score at 89-89 when Butler's 3-pointer bounced off the front rim and in with 34.9 seconds remaining.
Monta Ellis and Butler traded driving layins before Ellis ended the fourth quarter by missing badly on a 30-foot jumper.
The Bulls opened a 7-point lead in overtime but gave it all back. Ellis missed a 3-pointer, got the ball back after a long rebound and hit his second try, tying the game with 3.7 seconds left and setting up Butler's game-winner.
With Derrick Rose sidelined by a right hamstring injury, the Bulls' starting lineup, with Kirk Hinrich at point guard, struggled. In the first quarter, the starters managed 8 points in seven minutes before Hoiberg started subbing.
Then just like Monday against Toronto, Aaron Brooks (29 points) and Bobby Portis (16 points) turned the game around. After scoring the first 4 points of the second half, the Bulls led 54-40. During the rest of the third quarter, though, the Bulls offense was awful and Indiana went on a 22-6 run.
After the game, Hoiberg talked about Rose's unexpected absence.
"He's had a little bit of soreness in his hamstring," he said. "It really stiffened up during the course of the day. When he got to the arena, the plan was to loosen him up and see how he did with some treatment.
"He did some contrast, hot tub to cold tub, and just wasn't able to get it loosened up. We took a cautious approach and decided to sit him out."
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