Player of the Game
DANNY GRANGER
Continued his scoring surge with 30 points, the seventh straight game he's had at least 20, adding eight rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot.
Plus-Minus
Name Game Season
Diener DNP -13
Dunleavy +4 -44
Ford +5 -172
Foster DNP -9
Granger +1 -72
Hansbrough DNP -56
Head +8 +21
Hibbert +13 -30
D. Jones +7 -183
S. Jones DNP -161
McRoberts DNP -5
Murphy +1 -318
Price DNP +11
Rush +4 -200
Watson +7 -135
Noteworthy
  • The Pacers win over Chicago is their seventh of the season (7-24) against a team with a .500 or better record.
  • Dahntay Jones's 17 points off the bench are his most since notching 18 points in a win at Philadelphia, 1/25, and he has scored in double figures in just four of the last 14 contests.
  • Including four from Danny Granger and three from Earl Watson, the Pacers had 11 steals tonight, their most since having 11 at Orlando, 1/20.
  • With their steals tonight, Granger and Watson are now tied for the team lead with 66 apiece.
  • With his game-high 18, Luol Deng fell two rebounds short of his most ever in the NBA. His 13 defensive rebounds tonight matched his career-best
  • T.J. Ford's game-high seven assists are his most since dealing a season-high 13 vs. Charlotte, 12/16.
  • The Pacers are now 8-3 this season in games in which they hold the opposition to 90 points or less.
    • Hustle Board
    Points in the paint:
    Pacers 42, Bulls 34
    Fast-break points:
    Pacers 14, Bulls 8
    Second-chance points:
    Bulls 11, Pacers 4
    Points off turnovers:
    Bulls 24, Pacers 16
    Starters scoring:
    Bulls 67, Pacers 63
    Bench scoring:
    Pacers 37, Bulls 23
    Stat of the Night
    After the Pacers took an 87-73 lead with 9:30 left in the game, neither team made a basket for more than 6 minutes as the next 15 points came from the line. Derrick Rose ended the drought on a drive with 3:22 left.
    Up Next
    The Pacers hit the road for another four-game trip beginning Tuesday in Los Angeles against the Lakers (10:30 p.m., Fox Sports Indiana, 1070 The Fan).
    Related links
  • Blog replay
  • Video
  • Box score
  • Recap
    • More Video: Dahntay Jones up-and-under
    END RESULT
    Employing an attack mindset on both offense and defense, the Pacers produced some of their best ball movement of the season while playing disruptive defense and the result was an impressive 100-90 victory over the Chicago Bulls Saturday before a sellout crowd of 18,165 in Conseco Fieldhouse.

    Danny Granger scored 30 and Troy Murphy and Dahntay Jones had 17 apiece for the Pacers. Derrick Rose scored 27 for the Bulls.

    IMPACT
    The Pacers snapped losing streaks of three overall and three at home and improved to 20-39, including a 13-16 mark at Conseco Fieldhouse. They also avoided the first season sweep at the hands of the Bulls since 1996-97. Chicago had won six of seven coming in but fell to 31-28 overall, 12-19 on the road.

    QUOTEWORTHY
  • “Good win for our team. We did a lot of positive things. We built a lead and kept a lead." -- Jim O'Brien
  • “It definitely felt good out there tonight. I think we moved the ball well, using our small lineup and our reduction in number of turnovers. We have to be more consistent like this on a daily basis." -- Dahntay Jones
  • "I enjoy playing in the small lineup because we spread the floor well and really get the ball moving around." -- Jones
  • “It’s important for us to go out and play hard every night and with more consistency. It was fun out there tonight, going out and playing hard." -- Roy Hibbert
  • "I thought he was high enough a few times to kiss the rim. It’s a shame the bucket at the end of the half didn’t count. But with all his acrobatics it was fun to watch." -- Hibbert on Jones
  • "We’ve got to start playing like we did tonight, coming out with momentum and playing consistently. That means we have to stay focused.” -- Hibbert.
  • "Danny Granger and Dahntay Jones did a nice job for them. We could not score on a consistent basis." -- Bulls Coach Vinny Del Negro
  • “Our game plan was to stop the dribble penetration because they can really kill you in dribble penetration. That’s when they get their lay-ups, get to the foul line and get their threes. That was really the game plan (to stop that). We just didn’t do a good job of guarding them. They were cutting, back-cutting us, and we weren’t making any second effort plays. We got beat tonight because of it.” -- Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich

    KEY MOMENTS
    Perhaps the most important stretch of the game for the Pacers, at least psychologically, was the first quarter. After falling behind by 23 in the opening minutes in Chicago Wednesday night, the Pacers avoided the early hole as the game remained tight for most of the half. The Pacers opened up some breathing room with a 12-3 run late in the second quarter and took a 54-47 lead into the break.

    The momentum continued into the third quarter as Granger hit consecutive 3-pointers that pushed the lead to double figures for the first time, 60-49. The Bulls closed to 70-64 but Jones scored twice in a row, including a monster dunk on a lob from Earl Watson, to put the lead back in double figures.

    The Pacers led 80-68 entering the fourth quarter and Chicago was unable to mount anything close to a serious threat. It was 94-78 with 4:30 left when the Bulls scored seven in a row, five from Rose, to cut it to 94-85 but Granger answered with a bucket and Rose left the game shortly thereafter after banging knees with Watson and that was that.

    BY THE NUMBERS
    Granger shot 10-of-21, including 3-of-8 from the arc, adding eight rebounds, four steals and a blocked shot to another strong all-around game. Murphy started at center in the small lineup and had 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, adding four rebounds, three assists and a block. Jones made 7-of-11 and had 17 points off the bench and Roy Hibbert had 12 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block in 19 minutes off the bench. Indiana shot .473 overall and had 23 assists, 11 steals and six blocks.

    Rose shot 9-of-14 and scored 27 but had just four assists for the Bulls, who shot 42 percent and committed 21 turnovers. Taj Gibson had 14 points and nine bounds, Jannero Pargo 14 off the bench despite 5-of-16 shooting, Luol Deng scored 13 with 18 rebounds but was 5-of-14 from the field.


    •