Indiana Pacers 127 – Chicago Bulls 112 (Mar. 2nd, 2025) Game Recap

1. First Quarter

On Friday night the Indiana Pacers came out on fire against the Miami Heat. Tonight’s starting five – Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner would have a successful offensive quarter, but a non-successful defensive quarter. The two teams were exchanging the lead back and forth through the first four minutes before Indiana went on a 8-1 run to take a seven point lead after a Siakam floater. With 6:01 left in the quarter, Chicago called a timeout down 19-12 and responded with a 9-2 run to take a one-point lead. Indiana would not trail by more than two points in the opening period. The Pacers would possess the lead going into the second quarter after a Jarace Walker three in the final second. After twelve minutes of play, Indiana was on top 32-31. Siakam paced Indiana in scoring with 7 points, but Coby White was the game’s leading scorer with 11 points. Chicago shot 60.9% from the field in the first quarter, but what allowed Indiana to be in front was the fact the Pacers converted six threes.

2. Second Quarter

After a hot shooting first quarter, Indiana came out ice cold. Meanwhile, Chicago started the quarter with a 12-2 run courtesy of nine points from White and three points from Jalen Smith. Chicago would hold onto a two-possession lead for the next four minutes. Haliburton drilled a three with 5:31 left in the half to draw the Pacers within two points. Indiana would later tie the game with a Thomas Bryant dunk at 56 with 3:23 left in the second quarter. Indiana would not be able to take the lead in the final 3:23 but made sure that the deficit was minimal. At halftime, Chicago was leading Indiana 67-66. Haliburton led all scorers in the period with 10 points. Chicago’s leading scorers in the quarter were Coby White and Josh Giddey with 9 points. White was the games leading scorer with 20 points in the first half. Indiana’s leader was Haliburton with 15 points and 5 assists. Three starters for Chicago were in double figures compared to Indiana’s two (Siakam with 14 points). In the first half, the Pacers knocked down 12 of their 26 three-point attempts but allowed the Bulls to shoot 62.8% from the field.  

3. Third Quarter

Despite being incredibly shorthanded, the Bulls did a great job at playing hard. It took almost five minutes in the second half for the Pacers to tie the game. They would take their first lead of the second half when Nembhard cut to the basket for a layup off a pass from Haliburton to make it 76-74. Indiana went from trailing 74-70 to leading 90-79 because Nesmith caught fire. He scored 11 points during the stretch to give the team its first double digit advantage. The Bulls would not go away despite the Pacers having all the momentum. They closed the quarter by outscoring the Pacers by eight points in the final 4:34 to trail 95-92 going to the fourth quarter. Nesmith wound up scoring 13 of Indiana’s 29 points in the quarter. Chicago’s leading scorers were Jalen Smith and Matas Buzelis with 5 points each in the period. White was still clinging on as the game’s leading scorer with 24 points, but Nesmith was right on his tail with 21 points. Haliburton extending his double-double streak to five games after dishing out five assists in the third quarter.

4. Fourth Quarter

Indiana was looking to put the game away early in the fourth quarter after the way Chicago closed the previous quarter. The reserves extended the lead back to ten points when Nembhard splashed a free throw. Indiana’s advantage was hovering between eight to eleven points for the next six minutes. With 3:43 remaining in the game, Indiana was on top 116-109 after a Buzelis layup. Indiana would deliver a knockout punch with a 11-3 run to go on top 127-112. Turner delivered the final blow with a dunk that resulted in a Bulls timeout. Indiana would insert its reserves for the final sixty-two seconds with the game decided. Only one shot was taken in the final sixty-two seconds, and it was not successful. Indiana would take a shot clock violation and then Chicago dribbled the clock out. Indiana wins it 127-112.

5. Top Performers

Aaron Nesmith (27p, 5r, 6 threes), Pascal Siakam (20p, 6r, 4a, 2b), Tyrese Haliburton (17p, 12a, 5r, 3s), Myles Turner (16p, 6r, 1s, 1b), Andrew Nembhard (11p, 4a, 2s), and T.J. McConnell (11p, 6a). For Chicago, Coby White (26p, 7r), Josh Giddey (18p, 9r, 7a), Matas Buzelis (18p, 6r, 3a), Zach Collins (16p, 5a), Tre Jones (11p, 6a), and Jalen Smith (10p, 6r, 2a, 2s). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana is now 34-25 and 18-9 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
  • Indiana is 18-7 in 2025
  • Indiana is 4-2 after the All-Star break
• Indiana has now captured all 3 games of the series; the final game is on 3/10 in Chicago
• Indiana has 23 games remaining – 16 games coming against teams currently top 10 in either conference
• Indiana is 23-6 when recording 30+ assists
• Indiana is 22-6 when Myles Turner scored 15+ points
• Indiana had 6 players reach double figures
• Aaron Nesmith recorded a career-high 27 points
• Aaron Nesmith was 1 three shy of tying his career high (7)
• Aaron Nesmith’s 13 points tied the most points in a quarter in his career
• Coby White has scored 20+ points in 26 games
• Josh Giddey’s 5 game double-double streak snapped
• Josh Giddey’s 11 free throw attempts marked a season high and tied a career high
• Pascal Siakam has scored 20+ points in 32 games
• Tony Bradley made his Pacers debut after signing a 10-day contract earlier in the day
• Tyrese Haliburton recorded his 20th double-double of the season
  • Indiana 16-4 when Haliburton records a double-double
• Tyrese Haliburton has recorded a double-double in five straight games – season high
• Tyrese Haliburton has recorded 69 assists and 6 turnovers after the All-Star break
• Tyrese Haliburton has recorded 3+ steals in five straight games
• Tyrese Haliburton became first player in NBA history to record 500 assists before recording 100 turnovers in a single season (credit StatMamba)

7. Next Up

Indiana will conclude its two-game homestand on Tuesday when the Houston Rockets make their only visit to Gainbridge Fieldhouse. Pat Boylan will get things started at 6:30pm with the pregame show. Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play at 7pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.