Pacers at Bulls
THE STORY: The Chicago Bulls have made a habit of fourth-quarter comebacks in their Eastern Conference playoff series against the Indiana Pacers. In Game 4, the deficit proved to be a little bit too large. Derrick Rose and company will take another shot at closing out the pesky Pacers when the series returns to Chicago for Game 5 on Tuesday. Rose injured his ankle Saturday, but an MRI revealed it to be only a sprain. He is expected to play Tuesday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, TNT, Comcast SportsNet Chicago
ABOUT THE BULLS: Chicago trailed in the fourth quarter in each of the first three games but managed to pull out wins on the back of Rose and some timely 3-pointers from Kyle Korver. The Bulls almost managed to do it again Saturday when they rallied from 18 points down in the second half and cut it to one 85-84 with 15.3 seconds left. But this time it was Indiana sealing the game at the free throw line while Chicago missed desperation 3-pointers. Rose turned his ankle late in the first half and went to the locker room. He returned early in the third quarter but finished 6-of-22 from the floor for 15 points. After averaging 16.3 free throw attempts in the first three games, Rose went to the line only four times in Game 4.
ABOUT THE PACERS: Indiana has its own point guard with ankle problems in Darren Collison, who missed the second half of Game 3 after turning his ankle. He played 33 minutes in Game 4, but struggled with six points on 2-of-11 shooting. Danny Granger picked up the slack with 24 points and 10 rebounds, and sealed the win with four free throws in the final seconds. The Pacers dominated on the defensive end as Chicago shot 38 percent from the field. The Pacers are attempting to become the first NBA team in history to overcome a 3-0 deficit in a best-of-seven series.
WHO’S HOT/WHO’S NOT: Chicago's Joakim Noah posted his third double-double of the series Saturday. Indiana's Tyler Hansbrough went for 22 points in Game 1, but has averaged only 6.7 on 7-of-32 shooting over the last three.
KEY STATISTIC: Chicago struggled from 3-point range in Game 4 when it was 3-for-20, including 1-for-9 by Rose. The Bulls went 20-for-57 (37 percent) through the first three games.
LAST WORD: Chicago shot 33.3 percent in the first half Saturday, its lowest percentage in a half this season. “They’re playing good defense,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “You have to give them credit. We have to read. You have to hit the first open man. When you do that, the ball moves.”