NBA Recap: Chicago Bulls trounce the Indiana Pacers 110-89
Playing at the United Center, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers 110-89 on Saturday night to improve their season record to 33-14. With this win, the Bulls maintained the second best record in the Eastern Conference
behind the mighty Boston Celtics.
Carlos Boozer played one of his best games of the season. Boozer had his third double-double in four games since returning from an ankle sprain and finished with a game-high 24 points and 10 rebounds.
Derrick Rose chipped in with 20 points and handed out seven assists for the Bulls.
Bulls guard Rose played both Friday and Saturday games despite suffering from severe stomach pain because of ulcers. At the end of the victory, Rose said, "We got these wins out of the way. Now I can rest up and try to get better."
Luol Deng also came off the bench to net 19 points and eight assists while Kyle Korver also score 16 points for Chicago, who have won eight out of their last nine games.
Josh McRoberts led the Pacers with 20 points and 8 rebounds in the defeat. Danny Granger registered 19 points while Mike Dunleavy netted 13 points for the Indiana, who lost their seventh game in the last eight contests.
Pacers, who rank 10th in the league in free-throw percentage, missed their first four free throw attempts and finished 15-for-24 from the line. On the other hand, the Bulls made 22-of-25 attempts from the line.
Both the teams struggled with their shooting early on but came into their groove later in the period. The scores were tied at 25 with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter when Danny Granger nailed the open shot, giving
the Pacers a 27-25 lead, going into the second.
The Bulls back strongly in the second, getting a nice lift from Deng and Boozer. Chicago recovered turned up their defensive intensity and took a 55-51 lead into the locker room.
The Bulls extended their defensive play to the third quarter and maintained their lead throughout. Rose made a 3-pointer to close out the third quarter at 77-72 and then got off to a fast start in the final stanza, scoring the
first two baskets as the Bulls opened a double-digit lead to run away with the game. Chicago outscored Indiana 33-17 in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
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