Bulls 98, Pacers 96
INDIANAPOLIS -- Jimmy Butler sank a pull-up jumper with 3.7 seconds left to lift the Chicago Bulls to a 98-96 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Tuesday night in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.
A 3-point shot by Indiana's C.J. Miles bounced off the rim at the buzzer.
The Bulls (37-37) started the game tied with Washington for the ninth spot in the Eastern Conference. They are fighting to get one of eight playoff spots.
With the score tied at 84, the Bulls scored the first five points of the fourth quarter. The Pacers (39-35) countered by taking a 94-93 lead on Myles Turner's basket with 5:46 left.
After both teams went scoreless for two-plus minutes, George Hill hit a layup to push the Pacers' lead to 96-93 with just over three minutes left.
Chicago's Nikola Mirotic sank a 3-pointer to tie it at 96 with 2:19 to go. Mirotic led the Bulls with 28 points and Butler added 14.
Paul George scored a team-best 20 points for Indiana. Ian Mahinmi added 18.
The Pacers took a 71-69 lead on Lavoy Allen's dunk with 7:11 left in the third quarter. From there, Indiana built a 78-71 lead, only to see the Bulls close the quarter with a 13-6 spurt to tie it.
Mirotic came off the bench to score 20 points in the first half to lead the Bulls to a 60-58 halftime lead. He sank 5 of 8 3-pointers in the opening half.
Chicago was 7 of 14 on 3-pointers in the first half and Indiana was 2 of 12.
The Bulls led by as many as 10 points at 60-50 on Mirotic's 3-pointer with 2:48 left before halftime.
Helping the Pacers stay close was only one turnover in the first half compared with the Bulls' seven.
Chicago led by as many as six points before settling for a 28-27 lead after the first quarter.
Bulls guard E’Twaun Moore, who had missed the previous six games with a left hamstring injury, returned to action in the first quarter. Moore finished with five points.
NOTES: Pacers F Paul George needs eight points to pass his own career high and move into fifth place in NBA franchise history for most points in a season. He has 1,730. ... Pacers G Monta Ellis has led the team in assists in six of the previous nine games while averaging 5.9 assists per game during that span. ... After finishing 29th in steals (6.2) during the 2014-15 season, the Pacers are fourth in the league in steals (9.1) this season. ... The Bulls have lost 183 games becausee of injury or illness this season. Last season, Chicago missed 148 total. ... The Bulls lead the season series 3-1, winning 96-95 and 102-100 in overtime in Chicago and losing 104-92 at Indiana before Tuesday night's victory. ... Bulls F Doug McDermott leads the team in 3-pointers with 105. Last season, he made 13 3-pointers as a rookie. ... Bulls G/F Mike Dunleavy played 4 1/2 seasons with the Pacers.