Chicago Bulls defeat Indiana Pacers 96-90 in game 2: NBA Play-Off Recap
Derrick Rose finished with a game-high 36 points, six assists and eight rebounds, as the Chicago Bulls cruised past the Indiana Pacers 96-90 in the second game of their best-of-seven conference quarter-final series at United Centre on Monday night.
Bulls Point guard Rose said although his side won the game, they would have to improve if they are to progress further in the post-season. He said, "We are very happy to be here, of course. We will not take anything back. However, our play has to get better.
We have to be more smooth, more efficient especially at the defensive end. We have to try a lot harder."
Forward Carlos Boozer had an impressive game with 17 points and 16 rebounds for the Bulls, who closed the regular season with league’s best overall record of 62-20. Luol Deng had 14 points and six rebounds while Joakim Noah grabbed 10 rebounds for Chicago.
Danny Granger led the Pacers with 19 points while guard A.J. Price came off the bench with 13 points in the defeat for the eighth-seeded Pacers, who clinched their first playoff berth since 2006.
First Quarter Recap
Both teams went scoreless for the first two minutes of the opening quarter. However, Chicago managed to take a 12-8 lead with four and a half minutes to go in the quarter. Darren Collison scored six of his eight points in the first as the Pacers carried
an 18-17 advantage into the second.
Second Quarter Recap
Indiana continued to play an offensive game and extended their lead to 32-24 early in the second quarter. The Bulls then scored six unanswered points in the next minute to make it 32-30. Indiana kept getting free-throw after free-throw for rest of the period
to take a 47-44 advantage at half time.
Third Quarter Recap
In a tightly contested third quarter, both teams got some nice shots from their players. The Bulls managed to take a 67-62 lead with 37 seconds remaining in the quarter. However, Indiana went on a 5-0 run in the last 25 seconds to tie the game at 67-67,
heading into the final stanza.
Fourth Quarter Recap
The Bulls came out strongly in the fourth quarter. With one minute left in the game, Chicago led by five points after Kyle Korver’s three-pointer from the corner.
The Pacers went on a couple of runs to get the lead back to two points at 90-88, but they could not figure out a way to slow down the Bulls’ offence. Chicago went on a 6-2 run in the last 17 seconds of the fourth to seal their second consecutive home victory
of the playoffs.
Boozer said that the upcoming games of the playoff series would not be easy. He said, "Every game will be tough. There's not going to be any easy games in this playoffs in any series. Therefore, we look forward to some more tough games. We are built for
that. We've had close games all season, and we don't expect any easy games."
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