Bulls rally falls short against Pacers’ barrage of 3-pointers
The Bulls' 120-104 loss to Indiana on Thursday took some extreme twists and turns. The Bulls rallied from a 25-point deficit in the second half but couldn't hang on.
Really, though, it was all just a roundabout way of reminding the Bulls they need more 3-point firepower. Maybe Zach LaVine could help when or if he returns from a foot injury. But it's tough to keep up with an opponent that scores 36 more points from the 3-point line.
The Pacers went 19-for-42 from 3-point range, while the Bulls were 7-for-27. After the Bulls took the lead early in the fourth, Indiana took it back with a quick barrage of 3-pointers.
“I think a lot of it, to me, was I didn't love our physicality early to start the game,” coach Billy Donovan said. “We got back in the game by doing that. Certainly the 3-point line was a huge difference in the game. We didn't shoot the ball well at all tonight.
“With all that being said, there were a lot of things we did to get back in the game and get the lead. But we probably didn't do enough of that for a longer period of time.”
Indiana's Tyrese Haliburton had a record-setting type of game, finishing with 21 points, 20 assists and no turnovers. According to ESPN, Haliburton joins Chris Paul as the only player to hit 20-20 and zero since turnovers became an official stat in 1977.
Bulls guard Coby White has been playing with his wrist taped and had gone 0-for-15 from 3-point range during the previous two games. He finally broke the cold spell by draining a 30-footer from the tip of the horn of the Bulls logo at midcourt as the shot clock was about to expire. The long-distance 3 gave the Bulls a 91-90 lead with 8:18 remaining.
The Bulls trailed 81-56 in the third quarter before launching the comeback. After White's long 3, he added a pair of free throws to make it a 3-point edge.
But the Pacers responded quickly. Buddy Hield and Haliburton knocked down a couple of 3s each, Myles Turner added a three-point play and the Bulls quickly fell behind again by double digits.
Second-year forward Dalen Terry was part of the comeback lineup, along with DeMar DeRozan, Alex Caruso, Patrick Williams and Ayo Dosunmu. Terry scored just 6 points but was credited with 3 blocked shots and finished an impressive plus-29 in 18 minutes of action.
The Bulls finished the third quarter with a 21-4 run to trim the 25-point deficit to 85-77 heading into the fourth. After cutting the lead to 6, Caruso and Williams each missed open 3s, then Donovan challenged an offensive foul call on Caruso.
It was clearly a flop by Pacers forward Jalen Smith, who threw his head back as if he'd been hit with a Joe Frazier uppercut and fell to the floor. After review, the basket counted and the Bulls were within 4.
Williams led the Bulls with 22 points, while DeRozan had 21 and White, who went 2-for-6 from 3-point range, added 16. The Bulls (14-19) are 9-5 since Nov. 30.
Andre Drummond got his second straight start at center, Nikola Vucevic will be sidelined at least a week by a left adductor strain. Drummond couldn't match his monster 24-25 game from Tuesday but did pile up 16 rebounds and 7 points in 21 minutes. He sat out much of the second half when the Bulls were in comeback mode.
Before the game Donovan talked about whether Drummond could or should be the permanent starter.
“Here's a guy who was a max player, an all-star, an elite offensive and defensive rebounder for his career,” Donovan said. “I think as the game has changed, I think people has looked at that position as being not nearly as valuable as shooting or stretch-fours or two-way guys who can play offense as well.
“I also think for him, the things he does are valuable on any team. If he can really rim-protect, rebound like he did and then be an elite roller to the basket, there is a role for him. He doesn't need to be a 3-point shooter to be elite at what he does.”
But the Bulls need more shooters. Caruso, White and Williams were the only Bulls to hit a 3 in this game.
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