With Butler Block, Bulls Hang On To Beat Pacers 96-95

Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose was forced off the court with a sprain ankle in Monday’s 96-95 victory over the Indiana Pacers.

With 5.1 seconds remaining in the fourth quarter and the Bulls clinging to a one-point lead over the Indiana Pacers, Butler once again found himself one-on-one with Paul George. Miles had 19 points, but Budinger went scoreless. Damian Lillard scored 27 points and Al-Farouq Aminu added 17 points for Portland.

The Pacers could be a solid underdog play for bettors tonight when they visit the Bulls at 8:00PM ET. “I’m really becoming a vet in my head….They call me rookie but inside, I think I’m a vet”.

Like Schuhmann, Stein attributed the Pacers rise to Paul George’s streak of now seven games with 25 points or more. Defensively, the Pacers yield 96.1 points against the opposing teams.

The Pacers now look to get back on track as they travel to Philadelphia for the second game of their brief two-game road trip to face off against the 76ers (0-11) on Wednesday night.

IN took three of four from Philadelphia last season without George. He’s shooting just 35.9 percent from the floor, including a disconcerting 5.6 percent from three-point range.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. – In just his third game with Memphis, Mario Chalmers set his career high for points off the bench with 29 in a win over Oklahoma City, which was playing without Kevin Durant for the third straight game. But the All-Star clamped down on George to help Chicago hold on. He also had a team-high six assists. IN shot 35 percent (7 for 20) in the first period.

“Our flow was pretty good all night and then we got stagnant”, Hoiberg said after Monday’s victory. “We will learn from it. It’s always good to learn from a win”.

After 11 games, the Pacers now stand in third place in the Central Division behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (8-2) and the Chicago Bulls (7-3).

“During the surgery, they found a ligament tear as well and that’s complicated things a little bit and prolonged the timeline”, Vogel said. “Six weeks is the earliest he’ll get back”. Led by Mahinmi and Jordan Hill, IN had a 50-48 rebounding edge. As a team, IN had a workable 13, but proved too much when Chicago had only eight themselves. Overall the Bulls won the FTA battle with 32 attempts, though they left a few points on the board hitting only 62.5% of them.