by Raegan Walsh
Thursday night’s matchup was a rollercoaster of sorts, but Indiana ultimately came out on top.
Not only did the Blue and Gold narrowly avoid defeat after giving up a 25-point lead to a 19-2 Chicago scoring run late in the third frame, but they did it while holding Chicago to only 104 points, which is the lowest scoring output of any Indiana opponent all season.
Despite Indiana’s highs and lows on both offense and defense, Tyrese Haliburton seemed to overshadow the close call matchup with a historic night of his own. With his 21 points, a career-high 20 assists, and zero turnovers, Haliburton became just the second player since 1985 to record such a stat line. The All-Star guard shot 7-of-13 from the floor, with six of his seven buckets being scored from beyond the arc.
Myles Turner also added a 20-point night of his own as he led the six Pacers who ended the night in double-figure scoring with 24 points, six rebounds and three blocks. Buddy Hield followed behind with 19 points and six rebounds, in which 15 of his points resulted from his five completed 3-pointers on 10 attempts. Jalen Smith and Bennedict Mathurin contributed 15 points apiece, while Aaron Nesmith added 12 points and two blocks. In addition, Obi Toppin contributed a career-high 12 rebounds.
FIRST QUARTER
Though the Bulls gained the first possession of the game after winning the tipoff, Chicago and Indiana went basket for basket to get the matchup rolling. The Pacers opened the contest with an efficient start by shooting a perfect 6-of-6 from the field, led by Turner’s early seven points on a 3-of-3 shooting clip.
Indiana went cold and missed their next three shot attempts, giving Chicago room to stretch an advantage to six points with an 8-0 scoring run. A 3-pointer from Smith ended the quick scoring drought and brought the Pacers within three points.
Smith would end the first quarter with seven points for Indiana on a perfect 3-of-3 shooting clip.
Two jumpers from Bulls forward DeMar DeRozan and a failed Indiana possession gave Chicago a seven-point lead, which was their largest lead of the game. The Pacers immediately responded with a Haliburton to Smith alley-oop that brought the deficit down to five points with roughly five minutes to play.
Two minutes later, Isaiah Jackson followed up a 3-pointer from Mathurin with a steal at Chicago’s 3-point line that resulted in a fast break dunk. This chain of events put Indiana ahead, 28-26, for the first time in over five minutes.
Though the Bulls managed to tie the game, 31-31, with roughly a minute remaining in the first frame, a pair of 3-pointers from Hield and Haliburton gave the Pacers a six-point lead to finish off the quarter leading, 37-31.
SECOND QUARTER
To start the second quarter, Indiana took an eight-point lead at the 10:38 minute mark with a completed jumper from Andrew Nembhard. However, this bucket capped off Indiana’s 24-9 scoring run that was started in the middle of the first frame and was followed up with a Chicago 10-2 scoring run.
The Bulls managed to tie the game, 41-41, at the 7:45 minute mark. However, Indiana remained strong and continued to pull away with the help of a 14-6 scoring run that ended with a deep 3-pointer from Haliburton to put Indiana ahead yet again by eight points with roughly three minutes remaining in the half.
Indiana found a groove with a minute left in the second frame. A dunk from Smith gave Indiana a 12-point lead, its largest lead of the half, with 30.8 seconds remaining on the clock. Though immediately followed up with a 3-pointer from Patrick Williams on the other end of the court, another dunk from Smith put Indiana ahead 11 points to close out the half.
Both dunks from Smith and a layup from Hield at the 1:03 minute mark were assisted by Haliburton. Haliburton ended the half with 11 assists to go along with nine points.
Smith ended the half with 11 points, while Hield finished with 10 points.
THIRD QUARTER
Indiana opened the third frame by taking a 19-point lead, scored on 3-of-4 shooting from the floor with two of the buckets being assisted by Haliburton.
While the Blue and Gold sped ahead, the Bulls struggled on the offensive end as they missed all of their first five scoring attempts. Chicago’s only point for the first four minutes of the third frame resulted from a sole free throw by Andre Drummond.
The Pacers could not be slowed down as they outscored the Bulls 21-9 in the first six minutes of the second half and powered ahead to a 25-point lead, 83-58. Turner fueled the Blue and Gold offense as he netted eight points on 3-of-3 shooting from the floor and a 2-of-2 shooting clip from the charity stripe.
However, the momentum of the game would soon shift dramatically as Chicago found themselves steering the Pacers off course with a 19-2 scoring run starting at the 6:31 minute mark and ending at the conclusion of the quarter. While Indiana missed their final ten shots of the frame, this scoring run cut the Pacers lead to just eight points.
FOURTH QUARTER
Two free throws from DeRozan put Chicago within six points to start the final frame. From this point on, Indiana and Chicago exchanged baskets as the Pacers tried to hold on to their lead that got to as little as two points on one occasion.
At the 8:18 minute mark, the Bulls succeeded in overtaking the Indiana advantage as a 3-pointer from Coby White put Chicago ahead by one point. After trailing by as many as 25 points, the Bulls earned their first lead since the 3:41 minute mark in the first quarter.
While trailing by three points, a block from Turner that resulted in a 3-pointer from Hield assisted by Haliburton allowed the Pacers to tie the game up yet again, 93-93. In roughly five minutes, Indiana took back a 12-point advantage with a 24-7 run of their own.
The Pacers caught fire as they took back the game once again, going 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, with Haliburton and Hield adding two 3-pointers apiece and Nesmith adding one of his own.
Three buckets from Mathurin and two free throws from Turner gave Indiana a 17-point lead with 31.7 seconds remaining in the matchup.
Indiana shot 59.1 percent (13-of-22) from the floor in the final frame and made five of eight 3-point attempts.
For the Bulls, the five players who contributed double-figures to the scoring column were led by Williams’ 22 points on 9-of-14 shooting. DeRozan followed behind with 21 points, White added 16 points, and Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu contributed 15 points apiece. Drummond pulled down 16 rebounds.
Inside the Numbers
Six Pacers ended the night in double-figure scoring. Myles Turner led the pack with 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor and 7-of-7 shooting from the free throw line.
The Pacers held the Bulls to 104 points, which is the lowest scoring output of any Indiana opponent this season.
Indiana shot 50.6 percent (43-of-85) from the field and 45.2 percent (19-of-42) from beyond the arc. Chicago was held to 25.9 percent (7-of-27) shooting from 3-point range.
Obi Toppin pulled down a career-high 12 rebounds.
The Pacers, who rank first in the league averaging 30.5 assists per contest, dished out 30 assists on the night with the help of Haliburton’s 20 assists.
Indiana recorded nine blocked shots.
The Blue and Gold recorded 31 fast break points in comparison to Chicago’s seven fast break points.
Indiana’s bench outscored the Chicago bench, 40-23.
Both teams recorded 47 rebounds.
You Can Quote Me On That
“I just have done a terrible job taking care of the ball lately, so it’s good to see zero turnovers again. And you don’t get 20 assists without guys making shots. So just spreading the ball around, if guys are making shots for me a lot of guys are contributing.” – Haliburton on his assists
“Everything does start with our defense, I think this is probably our best defensive game. We held them to 104 points, a season low. Just overall, we’re growing as a group, and that was a goal from training camp just to grow as the season came along.” – Turner on defense
“Pretty wild game. In [Chicago’s] previous nine wins, eight of them were comeback wins. When they get down, they’re just a tough-minded team and they’re going to keep coming at you. They made a furious run and our guys responded the best way that you could– with poise and aggression. Really good win, obviously a very very good trip.” – Head Coach Rick Carlisle on the win
“I think they’re big because these are two scrappy teams (Chicago and Houston), two teams that are playing well. We’ve made defensive emphasis over the last couple weeks, we know that’s gonna make or break our season honestly. We know offensively we’re putting together one of the best seasons ever and we don’t plan on slowing down on that end.” – Haliburton on Indiana’s two road wins
“I was real proud of the way the guys really stuck together. This is as loud of a building you’re going to get in that kind of situation. Everything’s going wrong, they come back, take a three or four point lead, whatever it was. We just kept playing.” – Carlisle on the team
“We’re young, we’re hungry, we want to win. Everybody showed a part today, executed to the coaches’ game plan, and we came out with a dub.” – Smith on the win
“I just love the moment, I love playing basketball. It’s a lot of fun, and people look at me to be a closer for this team. Guys trust me, guys will give me the ball in the right spots, guys are making shots when I’m passing the ball.” – Haliburton on the late game run
“This morning he had to step out of the shootaround, his back was tight. [The medical staff] worked on him for a couple hours. I was surprised that he played based on how he was presenting this morning. They were able to figure out the problem and get it corrected, and obviously he did well.” – Carlisle on Haliburton’s back
Stat of the Night
All-Star guard Tyrese Haliburton shined in Chicago as he became just the second player in NBA history to record a 20+ point, 20+ assist, and zero turnover stat line. His 21 points was supported by six 3-pointers on 13 attempts. Along with his career-high 20 assists, he also recorded a team-high two steals and three rebounds.
Noteworthy
- The Pacers were without starting guard Bruce Brown, who is injured with a right knee bone bruise, for the third straight game. Brown had started in the Pacers’ first 27 games prior to the injury.
- Jalen Smith earned his second consecutive start of the season tonight, while Aaron Nesmith earned his third start of the season.
- With tonight’s win in Chicago, Indiana will return home 2-0 from their two-game road trip.
Up Next
The Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse to host Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks on Saturday, Dec. 30 at 7:00 PM ET.
Originally posted on pacers.com