Pacers at Bulls
THE STORY: After a hard-fought victory in Philadelphia on Sunday,
the Chicago Bulls have a quick turnaround before playing another up and
coming Eastern Conference contender in the Indiana Pacers. The Bulls
leaned on Derrick Rose on Sunday and were rewarded with 35 points in an
MVP-like performance. The Pacers have spent the last few weeks padding
their record against the bottom of the NBA. Indiana’s six-game winning
streak has come at the expense of teams with a combined record of
39-105.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Indiana (Pacers), WGN (Bulls)
ABOUT THE PACERS (23-12):
Indiana will be hoping that some of the momentum it got from beating
the Charlotte Bobcats twice, the New Orleans Hornets twice and the
Golden State Warriors and New Jersey Nets once each will carry over to
the top teams. The Pacers are third in the Eastern Conference, six games
behind first-place Chicago. Indiana has dropped its last four against
teams with winning records but did manage to knock off the Bulls 95-90
in Chicago on Jan. 25. The Pacers held Chicago to 36 second-half points
in that game.
ABOUT THE BULLS (31-8): Chicago was missing Luol Deng and Taj Gibson
during the first meeting and still came within a missed 3-pointer by
Brian Scalabrine of taking the lead in the final minute. Rose went for a
game-high 24 points to lead all five starters in double figures. That
marked the Bulls’ first home loss and one of only two in 16 games at the
United Center. Also winners of six straight, the Bulls have held
opponents to 89.3 points during the winning streak. Chicago will play
seven of its next eight at home as it tries to put some distance between
itself and the Miami Heat.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. The Pacers will play their next nine games against teams .500 or better.
2. Joakim Noah has recorded a double-double in four of the last five games for Chicago.
3. Rose is averaging 28.8 points over the last four games.