Preview: Pacers at Bulls

[November 10, 2017]  The Chicago Bulls began the season with drama when Bobby Portis punched Nikola Mirotic in the face, hospitalizing Mirotic and earning himself an eight-game suspension. Portis is back in the lineup and will once again try to make fans think of him for his exploits on the court when the Bulls host the Indiana Pacers on Friday.

Portis returned from his suspension at Toronto on Tuesday and delivered 21 points on 8-of-13 shooting, 13 rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes off the bench in a 119-114 loss to the Raptors. "Just tried to go out there and play the best I could and have fun," Portis told reporters. "It's been a long time since I played the game of basketball. I'm not going to stop being myself; situation happened. But at the end of the day, I have to be myself no matter who is around, who is my teammate, what team I'm on." The Pacers are losers of four in a row following a 5-3 start and allowed an average of 115 points in the four setbacks. "It sucks that we haven't won in a while, but it's part of the game and it's a part of the NBA," Indiana guard Victor Oladipo told reporters. "How teams respond separates the good teams from the great teams, and we've got to figure out what kind of team we want to be."

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FS Indiana, NBCS Chicago

ABOUT THE PACERS (5-7): Indiana ranks 28th in the NBA in defensive field-goal percentage entering play on Thursday, allowing opponents to go off at 48.3 percent from the floor, including 37.2 percent from 3-point range. The Pacers allowed the Detroit Pistons to shoot 51.8 percent from the floor and knock down 12-of-27 from beyond the arc in a 114-97 setback on Wednesday. "They made some plays, and once again, we didn't get the stops that we needed," Indiana coach Nate McMillan told reporters. "It looked like we were a little fatigued tonight and just didn't have enough."

ABOUT THE BULLS (2-7): Portis' return did not solve all of Chicago's issues on the defensive end, and coach Fred Hoiberg was not happy with the effort in the first half of the loss. "It shouldn't take me ripping their (butts) at halftime to come out and play with that type of effort and intensity," Hoiberg told reporters. "(The Raptors) got anything they wanted in the first half. We didn't take one thing away. It was too easy. ... Awful effort defensively." The Bulls are actually one of the better defensive teams in the league, limiting opponents to 100.6 points and 44.3 percent shooting.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Pacers C Domantas Sabonis (calf contusion) missed the last two games and is day-to-day.

2. Bulls C Robin Lopez (knee) sat out practice on Wednesday and is questionable for Friday.

3. The home team took each of the four meetings last season.

PREDICTION: Pacers 109, Bulls 98

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