After the opening 12 minutes on Wednesday, it looked like the Chicago Bulls would cruise to victory over the Indiana Pacers. That is because they had a 39-15 lead at the start of the second quarter. However, the Pacers delivered with a comeback for the ages. Indiana outscored Chicago 102-74 over the final 36 minutes en route to a sensational 117-113 come-from-behind victory.
The Pacers’s 24-point deficit was the fourth largest comeback after the opening frame in NBA history. With the win, the Pacers improved to a record of 26 wins and 34 losses, while the Bulls fell to 26 wins and 32 losses.
Six Pacers players reached double digits in scoring. Small forward Buddy Hield of Freeport, Bahamas led Indiana with 27 points. Meanwhile, small forward Aaron Nesmith of Charleston, South Carolina had 21 points. Center Myles Turner of Bedford, Texas had 17 points, Tyrese Haliburton of Oshkosh, Wisconsin had 16 points, while Canadians Chris Duarte and Bennedict Mathurin, who each hail from Montreal, Quebec had 14 points each in a reserve role.
It was the clear that the Bulls were missing one of their star players on this night in DeMar DeRozan, who is out with a grade one thigh injury. DeRozan is averaging 25.4 points per game, and is a major part of the Chicago offense. Despite the loss, the Bulls did get notable offense from Zach LaVine of Renton, Washington, who had an impressive double double with 35 points and 11 rebounds.
According to K.C. Johnson of NBC Sports, the one area that Bulls head coach Billy Donovan was the most dissatisfied with was team discipline. In all, the Bulls committed 21 fouls as a team in the four-point loss.
