Indiana Pacers edge past Chicago Bulls on the back of Paul George – NBA Recap
The Indiana Pacers travelled to the United Center on Tuesday night to take on the Chicago Bulls, and came out on top at the end to take the game 80-76. It was a low scoring game with both teams hard on defence and not very consistent from the field, but the Pacers eventually came out as the better unit. Paul George finished with a game high 34 points and 9 rebounds, going 14 of 25 from the field. Roy Hibbert added 10 points and 11 rebounds for the Pacers where as David West finished with 10 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Nate Robinson came off the bench to lead a low scoring Bulls roster with 19 points, where as Luol Deng added 17 points and 7 rebounds and Carlos Boozer finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
The Pacers started the game well and quickly ran away to a 10-4 lead through two free throws by George, but the Bulls were right on their tail and a three point play by Joakim Noah tied the game at 12. The Pacers scored the next four points but a three pointer by Deng followed by a free throw from him had the game tied at 18. Tyler Hansbrough scored two free throws in the final minute to give the Pacers a 20-18 lead at the end of the first period.
The Pacers started the second period with four free throws that helped them jump to a 24-18 lead. A three pointer by Robinson followed by a floating jumper by him had the Bulls up 29-28, but a fade away jumper by West tied the game at 31 yet again. Chicago scored the final four points of the period to have a 37-35 advantage at the halftime break.
George scored back to back field goals in the early going of the third period to tie the game at 41, and two free throws by Lance Stephenson later in the period gave the Pacers a 47-45 advantage. A three point play by George then had the Pacers leading 54-47, and George later scored a jumper to give the Pacers a 60-51 lead. The Pacers led 60-55 heading into the final period.
The Bulls outscored the Pacers 6-3 to open the final period and trail 61-63, and Robinson later scored seven straight points to give the Bulls a 68-65 lead. Deng’s bank shot had the Bulls up 74-70, but the Pacers scored the next eight points and had the Bulls trailing 78-74 with less than a minute to go. The Pacers eventually won 80-76.
Both teams shot under 40 percent from the field as well as three point range, but the Pacers had 10 steals against 3 for Chicago, who committed 19 turnovers against 12 by the Pacers.
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