In a huge embarrassment at United Center, Chicago Bulls lost their home game against the Indiana Pacers 107 – 77.
After running red hot for weeks, the Bulls were presented a bucket of ice water on Monday night at United Center by the visiting Indiana Pacers. Chicago, entering the game with a shared #1 spot on the top of the conference, have much reflecting to do today, after falling down 109 – 77 to Indiana.
The Pacers, who traveled to Chicago towards the very bottom of the conference table, somehow managed to spin the Bulls 180 degrees right from the start of the game. Indiana was supposed to be an easy dub for the Bulls on their quest for NBA supremacy in the Eastern Conference this year, especially considering the poor performance by the Pacers, only the Pistons and Magic being lower in the rankings so far.
But what happened on Monday night surprised even the biggest Pacers fans. The Blue & Gold came out strong right off the gate, dominating the first quarter for a 31-16, a whooping 15 point lead. The Bulls appeared to wake up in the second quarter, but the best they could do is hold off the Pacers from adding only another 6 points to their lead.
Chicago didn’t seem to be able to find rhythm after the half-time break. No one was able to prevent Pacers forward Domantas Sabonis from reaching a double-double with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 4 assists. The second half of the Pacers – Bulls game also belonged to Indiana, the Blue and Gold adding 7 and 4 points to their lead in the 3rd and 4th respectively.
DeMar DeRozan and Zach LaVine were both held to uncharacteristically low numbers, scoring 18 and 17 points each, but the rebounds and assists were lacking from both: 1-2 and 2-3 respectively. Lonzo Ball didn’t put a single ball in the Pacers basket, after playing for 25 minutes and Troy Brown was held to just 6 points in 30 minutes of game time. Overall, a very disappointing night for the Bulls. “As the game started to get into double figures, we got very, very stagnant. The ball didn’t move well enough, and we didn’t generate enough for each other,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan reflected after the game.
The Bulls should certainly do their best to put this game behind them and focus on what’s ahead. The next two games should give the the team a chance to recover and get back on track. Chicago is traveling to Houston on Wednesday to face the hapless Rockets, who have won just one of their games this season, and then the Bulls will zip to Orlando after Thanksgiving, the Magic being one of the worst teams in the Eastern so far. Statement victories in both of those games should be on the docket this week!
