Game Rewind: Pacers 108, Bulls 95

Despite the absence of Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner, the Indiana Pacers (3-3) extended their winning streak to three games after defeating the Chicago Bulls (2-5) 108-95 Sunday afternoon at Bankers Life Fieldhouse. TJ Warren finished with a game-high 26 points on 10-of-16 shooting, Malcolm Brogdon added 22, and T.J. Leaf finished with a career-high 15 rebounds.

"It's huge," Brogdon said of the win. "Having Victor (Oladipo) out, and you know, the type of player he is – an All-Star – and still being able to win games and put it together it’s been huge for us. But then to have Myles (Turner) and Domas (Sabonis) out, and still get this win it’s huge for our confidence."

With Sabonis out after suffering a left calf contusion against the Cleveland Cavaliers two nights ago and Myles Turner still rehabilitating a right ankle sprain, it was time for JaKarr Sampson, Goga Bitadze, and Leaf to step up and protect the paint.

The Blue & Gold defense limited the Bulls to just 18 points on 8-of-24 shooting (33.3 percent) in the first quarter. The 18 points were the Bulls’ lowest scoring output in a quarter since scoring 18 in the fourth quarter against the Knicks. Coming into the game, the Bulls were outscoring their opponents in the first quarter, 165-153. The +12 differential ranked second in the Eastern Conference and tied for eighth league wide.

Sampson made his presence known early, altering two Bulls shots on consecutive possessions. With 9:13 remaining in the first, Jeremy Lamb found Sampson cutting to the basket along the baseline. Sampson finished with a two-handed slam to give the Pacers a 9-7 lead which they never relinquished. His crowd-stirring dunk started a 9-3 run over the next 1:53 that gave the Pacers a quick 16-10 lead. The scrappy Pacers defense held the to just two points over the last 4:28 of the quarter to emerge with a 24-18 lead after the end of the first.

Then, it was Bitadze’s turn to step up. The rookie’s play at the beginning of the second kept the Bulls from obtaining the lead. After Lauri Markkanen’s two free throws cut the Pacers lead to 26-24, Bitadze responded with an easy dunk off an assist from Justin Holiday on their next possession that pushed the Blue & Gold ahead 28-24 with 9:47 remaining.

Later, the big man from Georgia once again showed his ability to respond. When a Zach LaVine 3-pointer cut the Pacers lead down to 32-29, Bitadze answered by drilling a 3-pointer of his own on the Pacers’ next possession to push the lead to 35-29 with 8:06 left to play in the half.

Over the final six minutes of the half, the Blue & Gold outscored the Bulls 14-8 to take a 55-42 lead into halftime. The Pacers defense held the Bulls scoreless over the final 1:58 of the half and limited them to just 18-of-45 (40.0 percent) shooting from the floor in the half, including 3-of-16 (18.8 percent) from beyond the arc.

Warren and Brogdon provided the spark coming out of the halftime break. Combining for the Blue & Gold’s first 10 points of the half, the duo to kept the Pacers lead in double digits at 65-52 with 8:05 remaining in the third.

"I'm going to be aggressive, regardless, that's who I am. That's who I've always been," Warren said after his bounce-back performance tonight. "I know the coaching staff and my teammates are always encouraging me to always stay aggressive."

Just two nights ago against the Cavaliers, Warren finished with only three points.

The Bulls appeared to gain some momentum after Markkanen finished a violent 3-point play in the paint. Driving hard to the hoop, Markkanen slammed the ball through the net through Bitadze’s foul. After he completed the free throw, Wendell Carter Jr added a layup to cut the Pacers lead to 65-56 and forced head coach Nate McMillan to call a timeout with 7:11 remaining in the quarter.

Shortly after the timeout, it was the efforts of Leaf along the offensive glass that pushed the Pacers lead back to 69-58. With 5:05 remaining, Leaf swatted away a Coby White shot much to the excitement of the crowd. After the block Leaf flipped the ball to Warren for the easy layup shot to push the Pacers lead to 13 points once again at 71-58.

Leaf continued his impressive third quarter performance shortly after by sinking his second 3-pointer of the season to put the Pacers ahead 82-70 with 1:33 remaining. In all, the third year man from UCLA finished with nine points and six rebounds, four on the offensive glass, in the third to help the Blue & Gold keep an 86-74 lead as they headed into the final frame.

Neither team managed to put together much of an offensive performance in the first three minutes of the fourth quarter. T.J. McConnell broke a three possession scoring drought with a left-handed layup to put give the Pacers an 88-76 lead with 9:39 remaining. After a pair of free throws from Markkanen, Aaron Holiday followed with a layup to keep the lead at 12. Soon after, Holiday answered a Ryan Arcidiacono 3-pointer with one of his own. The guard who has struggled to open the season appeared to gain some confidence on the shot, and pumped his fists in celebration as the ball fell through the net.

The Bulls managed to cut the lead to 96-88 after White managed to make 1-of-2 free throws with 5:04 remaining, but Sampson quickly extended the Pacers lead to 10 once again on the Pacers’ next possession with a finger roll layup off a Warren assist.

The Blue & Gold reached the 100 point mark in their third consecutive game on Brodgon’s driving layup past former Pacer Thaddeus Young with 4:04 remaining. Just under three minutes later, Brogdon’s driving slam extended the Pacers lead to 106-93, and effectively shut down any attempt at a late Bulls comeback. The stifling Pacers defense held the Bulls to just seven points in the final four minutes of game action. The defense held the Bulls to just 36-of-86 shooting (41.1 percent) and 9-of-30 (30.0 percent) from the 3-point line for the game. The Blue & Gold’s performance tonight was a near-perfect rendition of the motto, “next man up.”

The Pacers out-rebounded the Bulls 49-43 despite the absence of Sabonis and Turner.

The Pacers’ 10 offensive rebounds led to 15 second-chance points for the Blue & Gold.

The Pacers dished out a season-high 28 assists on 40 field goals in tonight’s win.

“We talked about we can’t make excuses. We had a number of injuries and guys have to be ready to step up and play when that opportunity presents itself. Tonight as a group, we did. We played with combinations tonight we’ve never played with or practiced with. They just played solid basketball. I thought their energy was good, defensively and offensively. You can’t drop your head when put in situations where you haven’t been playing. You have to be ready to play and I thought our guys came ready to play and do their jobs.” - Pacers Head Coach Nate McMillan on the win with an unusual lineup

“It’s always next man up with us. So, we’re just trying to fill the absence and just do what we do out there. I was just trying to do the same thing, do what I do out there.” - T.J. Leaf on the approach to the game with Sabonis and Turner out

“Just staying together. This is a team of guys that have low egos, are unselfish, we play well together and we’re tough. We stick together through it.” - Malcolm Brogdon on how the Pacers have won despite the numerous injuries

The Pacers face Isaiah Thomas and the Washington Wizards on Wednesday, Nov. 6 at 7:00 PM ET. Find Tickets »

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