Pacers control crunch time, finish season sweep of Bulls
After getting a chance to rest up following a hectic weekend series with Atlanta, the Bulls faced a different type of challenge Tuesday in Indiana.
The Pacers have hung on to the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference even after losing all-star guard Victor Oladipo to a season-ending knee injury on Jan. 23.
The reason is Indiana knows how to execute on both ends, and they weren't about to let this opportunity slip away. The Bulls had their chances, but were outplayed at the start and finish, losing to the Pacers 105-96 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
Indiana (42-23) completed a four-game sweep of the Bulls this season, for the first time since 2001-02.
"We lost because they were tougher than us in the fourth quarter," Bulls coach Jim Boylen told reporters after the game.
The Pacers were locked in from the start and jumped to a 16-5 lead as the Bulls missed several good looks. Indiana led 27-17 after one quarter and the advantage grew to 16 in the second.
So the Bulls had a hill to climb and did a nice job getting to the top. They opened the third quarter with a 9-2 run and tied the score.
They finally took their first lead of the game midway through the fourth quarter thanks to a nice surge by Zach LaVine. He scored on a driving layup and 3-pointer, then found a path through the lane for a flying dunk and the Bulls led 86-85 with 7:08 remaining.
But that's when the Pacers turned up the heat and the Bulls melted. For starters, the Bulls missed two chances to build the lead. They got a 24-second violation when LaVine waited too long to let go of a jumper (he made the shot). Then LaVine tried to post up point guard Darren Collison, but threw an ill-advised pass that was stolen. On the other end, Bojan Bogdanovic (27 points) was fouled on the ensuing fast break and Indiana went back ahead.
Then Kris Dunn missed a runner in the lane, Otto Porter Jr. went to the basket and might have gotten fouled, but his layup rolled off the rim with no whistle. Eventually, Bogdanovic and Collison knocked down 3-pointers to put the Pacers up 93-86. Appropriately, Collison's open 3-pointer came about because Dunn and Robin Lopez were unsure about a defensive switch.
There was one more miscue. Lopez blocked a shot by Bogdanovic and LaVine had the rebound to himself, but it slipped off his hand out of bounds. Myles Turner (7 blocked shots) got a dunk off the ensuing inbounds play and Indiana led by 9 with 3:58 left.
The Bulls got back within 97-92 with 1:46 on the clock, but Bogdanovic knocked down a corner 3-pointer on the next trip to put the game out of reach.
LaVine led the Bulls with 27 points and scored 13 in the fourth quarter. The rest of the Bulls combined to shoot 2-for-13 from the field in the fourth. Lopez finished with 20 points, while Lauri Markkanen finished with 14 points and 13 rebounds.
But Markkanen was 4 of 14 from the field. Porter went 3-for-11 for 7 points. Dunn hit 2 of 9 attempts.
The Bulls are back in action Wednesday against Philadelphia at the United Center. The 76ers also played Tuesday, beating Orlando at home. Top scorer Joel Embiid is not expected to play due to a knee injury, but ex-Bull Jimmy Butler should be available.
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls
Scouting report
Bulls vs. Philadelphia 76ers, 7 tonight at the United Center
TV: ESPN
Radio: WSCR 670-AM
Outlook: The Bulls haven't seen the 76ers since opening night when they lost 127-106 in Philadelphia Oct. 18. C Joel Embiid piled up 30 points that night against Wendell Carter Jr., who was making his NBA debut. Now Carter is sidelined by thumb surgery and Embiid was expected to miss his sixth straight game with left knee tendinitis Tuesday when the Sixers hosted Orlando. Embiid should return soon, but it's not clear yet if it will be for this game. ... Embiid is averaging 27.3 points and 13.5 rebounds on the season, SF Tobias Harris has contributed 21.7 points since arriving in a trade from the Clippers, ex-Bull Jimmy Butler is at 18.6 ppg, while PG Ben Simmons is averaging 17.0 points, 9.1 rebounds and 7.9 assists. ... The Bulls went 1-2 against Philadelphia last season.
Next: Detroit Pistons, 7 p.m. Friday at the United Center
- Mike McGraw