Bulls at Pacers
The Indiana Pacers dropped three of their last four games and are in danger of losing the No. 3 spot in the Eastern Conference. The Pacers will try to tighten things up on the defensive end and get back in the win column when they host the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday.
Indiana, which leads the Philadelphia 76ers by a half-game in the battle for the No. 3 spot, allowed the Orlando Magic to shoot 50.5 percent from the floor in a 117-112 setback on Saturday. "This hurts me to say, but they wanted it more," Pacers point guard Darren Collison told reporters. "It just seemed like they got all the 50-50 balls. ... They out-physicaled us down the stretch. It's just unacceptable on our part." The Bulls are coming off a heated home-and-home set against the Hawks that featured a four-overtime thriller in a 168-161 win at Atlanta on Friday and a contentious 123-118 home setback on Sunday. Chicago is heading toward the draft lottery but is picking up its level of play lately with wins in five of its last seven contests.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, WGN (Chicago), FS Indiana
ABOUT THE BULLS (18-46): Several of Chicago's key players appeared to be feeling the effects of logging 50-plus minutes on Friday in Sunday's contest. Guard Zach LaVine dipped from a career-high 47 points in 56 minutes on Friday to 12 points in 28 minutes on Sunday while forward Lauri Markkanen, who posted 31 points and 17 rebounds in the win, slumped to 19 points on 6-of-21 shooting and nine boards in the loss. Point guard Kris Dunn got into an altercation with Hawks point guard Trae Young in Sunday's matchup, leading to technical fouls on both and Young's eventual ejection for taunting.
ABOUT THE PACERS (41-23): Indiana was outscored 35-24 in the fourth quarter of Saturday's loss to Orlando and felt like it lost control down the stretch. "We've had this conversation probably three out of the last five games," Pacers coach Nate McMillan told reporters. "We've got to get back to calm in big situations, especially the fourth quarter where emotions are high. You've got to be able to calm yourself down and be clear about what it is you need to do out there." The Pacers need to avoid overlooking the Bulls with a two-game road trip to Milwaukee and Philadelphia looming later in the week.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Pacers PF Domantas Sabonis (ankle) sat out the last three games and is day-to-day.
2. Bulls SF Otto Porter Jr. (rest) sat out Sunday and Chicago dropped to 0-2 with him out of the lineup.
3. Indiana took the first three meetings by a total of 11 points.