Preview: Pacers at Bulls

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[November 16, 2015]  Paul George is back to playing like an MVP candidate and the Indiana Pacers are following their star up the standings. The Pacers will go for their fourth straight win when they visit the Chicago Bulls on Monday.

George has scored 25 or more points in six straight games – the longest such stretch of his career – and is averaging 29.3 points and 9.3 rebounds in that span to lead Indiana. "No question he is a great player,” Minnesota Timberwolves guard Andrew Wiggins told reporters of George after the Pacers’ 107-103 win on Friday. “It was fun to match up against him. I was very impressed by him as a defensive player. Everybody knows he can score, but he's a really, really well-rounded player." The Bulls have a similar talent in guard Jimmy Butler, who bounced back from a seven-point effort at Philadelphia on Monday with 27 in a 102-97 triumph over the Charlotte Hornets on Friday. “We’re a team that has a lot of talent,” Chicago center Pau Gasol told reporters. “When we play well and play hard and play together we are tough to beat.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Indiana, CSN Chicago

ABOUT THE PACERS (6-4): George is getting some help off the bench from second-year forward Glenn Robinson III, who is seeing his role increase up to a season-high 11 points and 21 minutes on Friday. Robinson played in only 35 games last season split between Minnesota and Philadelphia and sat out the first four games of this season before finding his way into the rotation. “It's surprising for a young player to make steady, solid plays," Indiana coach Frank Vogel told reporters of Robinson. "I feel good every time he's out there."

ABOUT THE BULLS (6-3): Joakim Noah returned to the lineup on Friday after missing the previous game with a sore knee and pulled down a season-high 18 rebounds in 23 minutes off the bench. Noah is averaging just 2.5 points on 30.8 percent shooting but continues to help the club in other areas. “(Noah) had great pop, great bounce,” Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters. “He was out there yelling and screaming at everybody. That’s always a good sign when Jo is doing that. First possession he got in there he tipped one in. It’s always nice to have that and he continued to play his tail off and that is who Joakim Noah is.”

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Bulls G Derrick Rose is shooting 5.6 percent from 3-point range.

2. Pacers G Rodney Stuckey (ankle) missed the last two games and is day-to-day.

3. The teams split four meetings last season, with Indiana grabbing one win in Chicago.

PREDICTION: Bulls 96, Pacers 94

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