GAME NIGHT FROM INDIANA: Bulls (18-46, 11-21 on the road) at Indiana ( 41-23, 24-9 at home)
TV: WGN: Neil Funk and Stacey King: 6PM CT.
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington and Steve Kashul.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 23 ppg. Indiana: Bogdanovic: 17ppg.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 9 per. Indiana: Turner: 6 per.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn: 6 per. Indiana: Collison: 6 per.
SEASON SERIES: Indiana 3-0.
CCI PREVIEW: The Bulls in the first of a back to back take on a Pacers ballclub that has weathered the loss of Victor Oladipo but tonight will be without another front line player in Domantas Sabonis. Indiana is a superb defensive team and to his credit, Head Coach Nate McMillian has adapted to the personnel of his club. Myles Turner leads the NBA in blocks with 159. Indiana limits opponents to 103 points per game tied with Memphis for the least amount of points scored by an opponent.
Despite Sunday’s loss to the Hawks, the Bulls have been playing at a high level and it was quite encouraging seeing the production of the Bulls bench against Atlanta. Ryan Arcidiacono registered his third straight double figure scoring game and Antonio Blakeney poured in 17 points. Cristiano Felicio also netted double figure scoring, recording 10 points. I can’t say enough about the job Arcidiacono has done as a reserve point guard/part time starter. He knows his role, has great court savvy and is a tough minded player.
Otto Porter Jr. is expected to return to the starting lineup tonight after resting on Sunday. The acquisition of Porter Jr. will go down as one of the top trades in recent history for the Bulls along with the blockbuster swap with Minnesota bringing in Lauri Markkanen, Kris Dunn and Zach LaVine to the Bulls. The Bulls have some great pieces to build on as they move forward in to the off season.
Chuck Swirsky recaps the last matchup between Bulls and Pacers from January 4
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Phoenix 114, Milwaukee 104. This is NOT a CCI typo. The Suns rallied from a ten point, fourth quarter deficit to over take the Bucks. DeAndre Ayton had 19 points and 12 rebounds. The Bucks have lost two straight for the first time this season.
Miami 114, Atlanta 113. After the game, D. Wade selected Hawks rookie Kevin Huerter to swap jerseys. Huerter, only 20 years young, idolized Wade growing up in New York. It was old school night. Wade finished with 23, 14 in the fourth quarter. He also became the all time leader in blocked shots by a guard passing Michael Jordan. Vince Carter scored 21 points, all on three pointers.
Brooklyn 127, Dallas 88. The 39 point margin was the largest win at home. Not a good way to start a three game road trip for the Mavs. The Nets ended a three game slide.
San Antonio 104, Denver 103. DeMar DeRozan and LaMarcus Aldridge combined for 49 points. The up again-down again Spurs have won three straight. Denver has lost 13 straight games in San Antonio.
New Orleans 115, Utah 112. Jrue Holiday and Julius Randle each scored 30 points.
Sacramento 115, New York 108. The Knicks have officially been eliminated from the playoffs, now that’s a surprise. New York stands at 13-51. The Kings are 23-3 when leading going in to the fourth quarter.
Los Angeles Clippers 113, Los Angeles Lakers 105. The Lakers are in a major free fall. Rajon Rondo notched his 32nd career triple-double, but the Lakers have lost 9 out of their last 12 games and their playoff hopes are fading. The Clippers improved to 37-29 and took over sole possession of seventh place in the West.
Thanks for reading CCI. Reach out: cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter: @ctsbulls. Always a pleasure!