Luol Deng shines as Chicago Bulls ease past Indiana Pacers 92 – 72 – NBA Recap
The Chicago Bulls lost their last encounter with the Indiana Pacers at the United Center and star point guard Derrick Rose declared he will be looking forward to their next visit. On Monday the Pacers came to town and Rose and his Bulls simply blew them
away, 92 – 72, exacting their revenge in a fitting manner.
Rose didn’t even have to do it all by himself. The NBA’s reigning MVP scored 13 points and dished out 9 assists. It was instead forward Luol Deng who spearheaded Chicago’s assault.
Deng scored a team high 20 points, had 6 rebounds and handed out 4 assists. Joakim Noah was another one who turned in a big performance, scoring 9 points and hauling down 17 boards.
John Lucas, Ronnie Brewer and Taj Gibson all came off the bench to score 10 or more points.
Paul George was the most potent weapon for Indiana on the night, netting a game high 21 points. George Hill had 17 while Danny Granger managed 11.
"When you let a team at home, as good as this is, get momentum on you, they can score a lot of points in a short amount of time." Granger commented on the loss after the game.
"Give credit to the Bulls," Pacers coach Frank Vogel said. "They had all the hustle stats. Won all the loose balls and obviously kicked our butts on the glass. "
The Bulls weren’t exactly dominant throughout the game, but when they got their chance they simply pounded the Pacers into submission.
"We struggled offensively in the first half," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "In the third quarter, we had great energy and imposed our will. The rebounding is what got us over the hump."
The game got off to a slow start but Chicago made the most of it, going up 8 – 2 in the early proceedings. The Pacers though would soon catch up with them, and even went past, starting a back and forth that lasted pretty much throughout the complete first
quarter.
Chicago finished just ahead at 22 – 20 but it didn’t really matter as the second period continued in the same competitive vain. Bulls managed an 8 – 0 burst to go ahead 33 – 26, the Pacers again clawed back, levelling the score at 38 – 38 before finishing
the half up by 43 – 42.
After the interval however it was all Chicago. The Bulls went on a rampage in the 3rd segment, completely shutting Indiana down while attacking ferociously on the other end. They piled on a total of 33 points, contrasted with just 13 from the
Pacers for a huge 75 – 56 lead.
The fourth stanza was thus just a formality. Neither side showed much interest in making a concerted effort, instead choosing to go through the motions. With only 33 points scored overall in the final frame, the game ended 92 – 72 to the Bulls.
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