Granger's 30 points leads Pacers past Bulls 100-90

INDIANAPOLIS - This trip to Indiana was one of those unpleasant realities of the NBA schedule: It looked bad on paper and was even uglier to watch.

After going overtime to beat Portland on Friday, the Bulls had to play the second leg of back-to-back games on the road against a rested Pacers squad.

The Bulls brought nothing Saturday night. In fact they looked like they could have used a nap in Nap Town.

They certainly weren't ready for competitive basketball and lost 100-90 at Conseco Fieldhouse in a game that was never close in the fourth quarter.

"There are a few teams you don't want to get on a back to back," Bulls forward Luol Deng said. "They're a team, they push it up the floor, move it around a lot. It just felt like they had more energy than we did the whole game."

Guard Derrick Rose had a nice night, scoring 27 points and setting a regular-season career high with 12 free-throw attempts.

He went to the bench at the 2:56 mark of the fourth quarter, though, after knocking knees with Indiana guard Earl Watson.

The injury doesn't appear to be serious, but there was no official update.

Deng grabbed 18 rebounds, while rookie Taj Gibson produced his usual 14 points and 9 boards. Otherwise, the Bulls took the night off.

Kirk Hinrich scored 4 points in 41 minutes. Newcomers Flip Murray and Hakim Warrick scored a combined 6 points. The Bulls (31-28) piled up 21 turnovers and couldn't defend the paint.

"It just seemed like collectively as a group we didn't have what it took tonight," Hinrich said. "We just didn't do a good job of guarding them. They were back-cutting us. We weren't making any second-effort plays, and we got beat tonight because of it."

Right from the opening tip, it was obvious the Bulls would have a tough time adjusting to the style of game. Against Portland, the game was called very tight, with whistles on most every bump.

Saturday's crew of Mark Wunderlich, Bennie Adams and Eric Dalen sat back and let the players duke it out. The Bulls weren't even called for their first foul until the 1:50 mark of the first quarter.

Deng got so frustrated by the amount of contact under the basket he drew a technical foul from Adams in the fourth quarter.

"I just felt like we weren't getting anything," Deng said. "There were a couple times they drove, they got calls and we didn't. That's the way the game goes sometimes. Everybody was a little bit frustrated."

The Bulls ended up shooting 33 free throws, compared to 28 for Indiana.

"Usually, the aggressive team is going to get the calls," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I thought they were more aggressive than we were. They were more physical than we were. Their energy was better."

Deng injured his left knee while scoring 31 points against Indiana at the United Center on Wednesday and admitted feeling some pain in the rematch. He finished with 13 points, 5 turnovers and hit 5 of 14 shots.

"I just felt a little tight and my shot was short," Deng said. "I'm not sure about the next game. I'm going to see tomorrow with a day off how it will feel and try to get some of the swelling down."

The Bulls were within striking distance at halftime and pulled within 54-49 when center Brad Miller opened the third quarter by following in his own miss. On the next two Pacers possessions, they set a single screen and freed up Danny Granger (30 points) for consecutive 3-point baskets.

<p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Mike McGraw's game tracker</b></p>

p class="factboxtext12col"><b>Pacers 100, Bulls 90</b></p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">Tired night in Nap Town: This one is pretty easy to summarize. After going overtime to beat Portland on Friday, the Bulls just didn't have it against a rested Pacers squad. The visitors shot the ball OK (41.9 percent) but coughed up 21 turnovers.</p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">No consolation: Derrick Rose set a career-high for free-throw attempts (12) while scoring 27 points, Luol Deng grabbed 18 rebounds, and rookie Taj Gibson was his usual steady self with 14 points and 9 boards. That wasn't enough to hang with Indiana, which got 30 points from Danny Granger.</p>

<p class="factboxtext12col">Opportunity lost: The Bulls missed a chance to sweep the season series against the Pacers for the first time since 1996-97.</p>