Bulls hand Pacers first loss, 110-94
CHICAGO — Luol Deng scored 23 points, Derrick Rose added 20 points and the Chicago Bulls knocked off the NBA’s last unbeaten team with a 110-94 win over the Indiana Pacers on Saturday night.
Taj Gibson had 15 points and eight rebounds for Chicago (5-3), which won its fourth straight game behind 11-of-19 shooting from 3-point range.
Indiana (9-1) was the NBA’s first 9-0 team since the 2002-’03 Dallas Mavericks, who started 14-0. The nine wins to start a season matched a franchise record.
Nursing a sore right hamstring, Rose was effective in his 30 minutes on the court. He weaved around and penetrated the league’s best defense, which hadn’t allowed more than 91 points to any opponent this year.
Rose was injured Monday against Cleveland, and did not play in Chicago’s 96-80 win Friday at Toronto.
The 25-year-old former MVP shook off the rust after a pair of early off-balance misses. He sank a floater in the lane three minutes in, followed by a 3-pointer 30 seconds later to ignite a 12-2 first-quarter run for Chicago.
Rose cozied up at the 3-point arc in the second quarter, knocking down all three attempts as the Bulls took a 25-point advantage into the half. He finished 6 for 11 from beyond the arc.
Kirk Hinrich came off the bench to contribute 13 points, eight assists and four rebounds for the Bulls.
The Pacers lost despite having all five starters — and two reserves — score in double-digits.
Roy Hibbert led Indiana with 14 points a day after posting season-highs with 24 points and eight blocks.
Chicago held Paul George to 12 points. He entered the game seventh in the NBA with 24.6 points per game. George and Lance Stephenson combined to miss all seven of their 3-point attempts, and the team made just 25 percent.
The Pacers were coming off their most lopsided win of the season, a 104-77 drubbing of Milwaukee.
NOTES: Chicago reached triple-digits for the second time this season. . Deng led Chicago in scoring for the fourth time this year. . Pacers forward Danny Granger (strained left calf) was inactive Saturday. He has yet to play in a game this season.