Pacers at Bulls
The Indiana Pacers were feeling good about themselves with wins in four straight games before getting a look at how far they are from the top in a 119-100 loss at NBA-best Milwaukee on Wednesday. The Pacers will try to bounce back and win for the seventh time in nine games when they visit the Chicago Bulls on Friday.
Indiana sits three games behind the Miami Heat for the No. 4 seed in the Eastern Conference and homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs and was happy with the effort but not the execution against the Bucks. "I thought our guys kept fighting," Pacers coach Nate McMillan told reporters. "They kept scrapping. After that first quarter we settled down. In the first quarter, I thought we took some quick shots. Those quick shots led to quick baskets. I thought in the second, third, and fourth quarter we started to settle down and get into our offense and force them to defend playing our third and fourth options." Chicago lost 11 of its last 13 games and got two key players back from the injured list only to add another this week with Otto Porter Jr. (foot) and Lauri Markkanen (pelvis) returning and Zach LaVine (quad) going down. "I just went out there and played, started moving," Markkanen told reporters after making his return in a 115-108 loss to Minnesota on Wednesday. "I tried to get to the rim and get a couple of easy ones. Just try to be aggressive and get down the lane and a get a couple of post-ups. I think it was a good direction."
TIME: 8 p.m. ET. TV: FS Indiana, NBCS Chicago-Plus
ABOUT THE PACERS (37-25): Indiana was already fighting through a rash of injuries in the backcourt with Jeremy Lamb (knee) done for the season and Victor Oladipo (knee) sitting out the last two games before watching point guard Malcolm Brogdon go down with a hip injury on Wednesday. "I just felt something in my hip-region area," Brogdon told reporters. "We're still trying to figure it out. I jumped to challenge Khris Middleton's shot and I felt something pull a little bit." Brogdon, who is averaging 16.3 points and 7.1 assists, joins Oladipo as day-to-day.
ABOUT THE BULLS (21-41): Stepping up to replace LaVine's scoring is rookie guard Coby White, who poured in a team-high 26 points on Wednesday and is averaging 28 points over the last six games. "He's playing his butt off right now and we all have to help him," Markkanen, who scored 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting in 21 minutes, told reporters of White. "He's carrying a big load right now. Hats off to him. He's playing at a really high level and hopefully he can keep it up." Porter, who missed nearly four months, scored 18 points in his return on Monday but slumped to two points on 1-of-8 shooting on Wednesday.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers SF T.J. Warren suffered a leg laceration that required stitches on Wednesday and is day-to-day.
2. Bulls PG Shaquille Harrison scored a season-high 17 points in Wednesday's loss.
3. Indiana owns an eight-game winning streak in the series, including a 116-105 victory at Chicago on Jan. 10.