Pacers rally past Bulls with second-half surge

 

[February 16, 2023]  Buddy Hield scored 27 points and Aaron Nesmith added 21 to lead six players in double figures and help the Indiana Pacers defeat the visiting Chicago Bulls 117-113 on Wednesday night in Indianapolis.

Indiana, which trailed by 24 points after one quarter, stopped a five-game losing streak while sending Chicago to its fifth loss in a row.

Myles Turner had 17 points and nine rebounds for the Pacers, while Tyrese Haliburton (16 points), Bennedict Mathurin (14) and Chris Duarte (14) followed.

A marked turnaround from 3-point land benefited the Bulls, who shot a mere 19.4 percent from distance in their four games entering Wednesday -- the first team in league history to shoot below 20 percent over a four-game stretch with 100 or more attempts.

Chicago was 15-for-35 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range Wednesday. Indiana was effective, too, however, going 18-for-43 (41.9 percent) from deep. The Pacers outscored the Bulls 75-55 after halftime.

Zach LaVine had 35 points and 11 rebounds for Chicago, and Coby White scored a season-high 25 points.

Nikola Vucevic had 19 points and seven rebounds as his double-double streak ended at nine games. Ayo Dosunmu scored 15 points and Patrick Williams chipped in 11. LaVine had seven assists.

Indiana took its first lead of the game at 92-90 on a Mathurin reverse layup with 8:51 to go. The Bulls answered with a Williams 3-pointer 39 seconds later before the Pacers responded in turn.

Chicago took a 58-42 advantage into halftime.

Feb 15, 2023; Indianapolis, Indiana, USA; Indiana Pacers forward Aaron Nesmith (23) shoots the ball while Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (44) defends in the first quarter at Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Mandatory Credit: Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports

LaVine (17 points) and White (12) sparked the Bulls' attack while contributing to their sudden barrage from long range. The Bulls swished four 3-pointers in the first quarter, one more than during all of Monday's home loss to Orlando, and collected six treys by the half.

Overall, the Bulls shot 53.5 percent from the floor in the first half while scoring 17 points off turnovers.

Chicago was minus leading scorer DeMar DeRozan (thigh strain).

Pacers coach Rick Carlisle and Bulls counterpart Billy Donovan both were whistled for technical fouls in the game.

--Field Level Media

[© 2023 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]
 This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.  Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.