Bulls at Pacers
THE STORY: The Indiana Pacers looked as though they had Derrick Rose contained in Game 3 - until the final minute rolled around. Staring at elimination, the Pacers will need to come up with another plan to stop the star point guard if they hope to keep playing. With the exception of Rose’s heroics, the Chicago Bulls have not looked invincible in the first three games of the best-of-seven set but they have shown a great ability to close. The Bulls will be looking to close out the entire series when they face the Pacers in Game 4 at Conseco Field House on Saturday.
TV: 2:30 p.m. ET, TNT, CSCH
ABOUT THE PACERS: Indiana has held a lead in the fourth quarter in each of the first three games but just does not seem to have the personnel available offensively or defensively to close out Chicago. After fighting back to tie the game, 84-84, with 1:42 left on Thursday, Indiana missed its final four shots and had to settle for an off-balance, contested 3-point attempt by Danny Granger despite calling a timeout and drawing up a play with 17 seconds left. Granger scored the last four field goals for the Pacers in the contest and finished with a team-high 21 points. Only two other players - Dahntay Jones with 11 and Tyler Hansbrough with 10 - reached double figures for the Pacers in Game 3.
ABOUT THE BULLS: The defense that held Indiana at bay down the stretch is easy to overlook because of the continued highlight show from Rose. But it is that strong team defense that has kept Chicago in the games until Rose has been able to take over. The Bulls held the Pacers to 38 percent shooting in Game 3, including 1 of 10 from beyond the arc. Rose had easily his worst game of the series, shooting 4 of 18 from the field and recording more turnovers (five) than assists (two). But the superstar stepped up when it counted, taking the ball after a timeout and driving the lane for his lone field goal of the second half, putting the Bulls up for good with 17 seconds left in the 88-84 victory. He shot 13 of 15 from the free throw line to finish with a game-high 23 points.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Rookie guard Paul George continues to struggle for Indiana, shooting 4 of 18 through the first three games. Kyle Korver is 7 of 8 from 3-point range in the series for the Bulls.
KEY STATISTIC: Chicago buried 9 of 20 attempts from beyond the arc in Game 3 while the Pacers struggled to 1 of 10 from the perimeter.
LAST WORD: Indiana interim coach Frank Vogel gave Korver credit after Thursday’s game. “Korver killed us in the fourth,” Vogel said. “He even killed us on the last play when we couldn’t leave him to help. That allowed Rose to get to the bucket.”