Bulls can't keep up with Pacers
Maybe there's a reason the Bulls haven't taken to the fast-paced, high-scoring style favored by new coach Fred Hoiberg.
On Friday, the Bulls took on an Indiana Pacers team that has excelled at small ball this season and couldn't keep up.
The Bulls fell behind by 12 points in the first quarter and never recovered, losing 104-92 at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. The Bulls finished a short circus road trip with a 2-2 record.
"A big thing we stressed going into this one was betting back and building a wall, not give them transitions 3s," Hoiberg said after the game. "Again, turnovers fueled a lot of those transition points. You have to do a better job getting back on this team with the way they've been playing."
Indiana (10-5) keeps three guards on the floor at all times, pushes the tempo and likes to shoot quickly. In their three previous games, all wins, the Pacers averaged 119 points.
So the Bulls (9-5) finished on the short end of the fast-break points 21-5. But they also managed to lose points in the paint 42-28 and second-chance points 16-9. The only spot where they were able to take advantage of Indiana's small lineup was Nikola Mirotic scoring a team-high 25 points, working against 6-6 Pacers small forward C.J. Miles.
Indiana's Paul George continued his impressive return from a broken leg, pouring in 33 points with 8 rebounds. After the game, Hoiberg suggested George is playing at an MVP level.
Derrick Rose, on the other hand, compared his play with a slang term for manure when speaking to reporters in the locker room. Both Rose (10 points) and Pau Gasol (9) shot 4-for-16 from the field. Jimmy Butler finished with 16 points.
Veteran guard Kirk Hinrich played well, scoring 11 points off the bench and hitting 3 of 4 shots from 3-point range, but he left the game in the fourth quarter with a hip pointer. Hinrich collided with Pacers guard George Hill while chasing a defender. Doug McDermott played just six minutes, none in the second half, due to an illness.
Off the bench, the Bulls didn't get much from Joakim Noah (0 points, 5 rebounds). Taj Gibson finished with 4 points and 6 boards.
"We didn't play well, especially on the offensive end, as a team," Hoiberg said. Asked for specific problems with the offense, Hoiberg listed, "Movement, getting that thing swung (from one side of the court to the other). We're doing it in practice. We've got to carry it over to games."
The Bulls got off to a quick 7-2 lead by working the offense for 3 layups. From that point, the Pacers' fast-paced style kicked in and they raced to a 21-5 run by pushing the ball for easy baskets. Indiana's lead peaked at 17 several times in the second quarter.
"Obviously coming out of the gate, we turned the ball over a lot, allowed them to have too many second-chance opportunities and just couldn't get anything going," Hoiberg said. "You can't use excuses. We've got to come out of the gates better than we did tonight."
The Bulls made a push, closing within 66-62 on a Mirotic free throw with 1:46 left in the third quarter. But they missed their next 3 shots and the Pacers finished the quarter with a 6-1 run to go up by 9.
The closest the Bulls would get in the fourth quarter was 7 points. Indiana pulled away by hitting 12 of 16 free throws in the final quarter.
Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.