Indiana Pacers 129 – Chicago Bulls 113 (Jan. 8th, 2025) Game Recap - Page 8
Source: Jeff Dean / Getty
1. First Quarter
For the third time this season, the Indiana Pacers were playing without Myles Turner. Replacing Turner in the starting lineup was Thomas Bryant. The game opened with Chicago taking its only lead of the game at 4-2 on a Josh Giddey layup. Indiana then scored eleven of the next twelve points to take an early eight-point lead when Pascal Siakam putback a missed field goal by Bennedict Mathurin. Chicago would draw within three points with 1:55 remaining in the opening period, but Indiana closed out the quarter very well. The Pacers received field goals from Ben Sheppard, Jarace Walker, T.J. McConnell, and a free throw from Enrique Freeman to take a 29-18 advantage to the second quarter. Siakam led all scorers in the opening quarter with 7 points. Chicago’s leading scorer was Giddey with 5 points. An early story in this game was the Bulls inability to take care of the basketball. Indiana forced Chicago to turn the ball over seven times in the first quarter to make up for the 1/8 (12.5%) shooting from three-point range.
2. Second Quarter
After closing the first quarter with an 8-0 run, the Pacers were able to continue that run at the start of the second quarter. Jarace Walker opened the period with a three, followed by a dunk from Obi Toppin and a layup by Siakam. Indiana’s advantage hit 18 points with just 10:23 left in the second quarter. Chicago didn’t counter with a run either in the second quarter. Siakam’s second three of the half with 6:05 remaining elevated the Pacers ahead by twenty points. The largest lead for the Pacers in the first half was 23 points. Thomas Bryant was responsible for putting Indiana ahead 60-37 with 2:37 remaining in the half with a dunk. Chicago outscored Indiana by four point the rest of the way to trail 64-44 at halftime. Siakam led all scorers in the quarter with nine points and in the first half with 16 points. Bryant was big in the second quarter with 7 points and three rebounds. Chicago’s leading scorer in the second quarter was Nikola Vucevic with 6 points. Indiana forced Chicago to turn the basketball over a whopping 14 times in the first half.
3. Third Quarter
Tonight marked the second night of a back-to-back for the Chicago Bulls, so it a question mark as to how they would play in the second half knowing they had a steep hill to climb. Indiana opened the third quarter by going on a 18-6 surge to take thirty-one-point lead with 6:27 left in the third. Once again, it was Siakam responsible for setting a new game high lead, but this time it was a floater that made it 81-50. Eventually the Pacers would take a 34-point lead when T.J. McConnell stole an inbound pass from Vucevic and laid it in. Chicago started displaying a little bit of fight down the stretch by chipping away at Indiana’s massive lead. After three quarters of play, Indiana led 100-76. Zach LaVine led all scorers with 13 points in the quarter. Indiana’s leading scorer was Tyrese Haliburton with 11 points. After the big third quarter, LaVine led all scorers with 22 points. Indiana was led by Siakam with 21 points. Haliburton had a double-double with 16 points and 11 assists.
4. Fourth Quarter
After closing the third quarter strong, the Chicago Bulls would carry that momentum into the final quarter of play. With 11:03 remaining in the contest, they were within twenty points after a LaVine step back jumper. The game would get interesting with 8:07 remaining when Coby White drilled a deep three-pointer. Rick Carlisle had to insert Haliburton, Nembhard, and Bryant back into the game to stabilize things. Out of the timeout, Nembhard knocked down two free-throws and then converted a baseline fadeaway jumper to stop the bleeding. With 6:21 left in the contest, Indiana extended its lead back to 21-points after a Nembhard layup. It forced Chicago to take a timeout, and it did not matter. Indiana was able to maintain a lead between fourteen points and seventeen points the rest of the way. Indiana’s winning streak stays alive with a 129-113 win over the Chicago Bulls.
5. Top Performers
Pascal Siakam (26p, 6r, 3a), Thomas Bryant (22p, 8r), Tyrese Haliburton (16p, 13a, 3r, 2s), Andrew Nembhard (14p, 6r, 5a), Obi Toppin (12p, 5r, 2a), and Jarace Walker (12p, 3a, 2r). For Chicago, Zach LaVine (31p, 4r, 4a), Coby White (19p, 5a), Jalen Smith (13p, 7r, 3a), and Nikola Vucevic (10p, 7r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.
6. Notes
- Indiana now 20-18 overall and 10-6 at Gainbridge Fieldhouse
- Indiana has now won four consecutive games
- Second longest winning streak of the season
- All four wins have been by 10+ points – first time since 2015
- Indiana has led 177 minutes and only trailed 6 minutes during winning streak
- Indiana hasn’t trailed once in the second half during winning streak
- Indiana is 11-5 since Andrew Nembhard’s return from knee tendonitis
- Indiana’s 37 assists are a season high
- Indiana is 14-2 when recording 30+ assists
- Indiana is 2-0 vs Chicago in the season series with two games left
- Andrew Nembhard ended three game streak of scoring less than 10 points
- Pascal Siakam scored 25+ points for the 9th time this season
- Thomas Bryant recorded a season high 22 points
- Tyrese Haliburton recorded his 14th double-double of the season
- Tyrese Haliburton has dished out 95 assists in the last 10 games and has only turned the basketball over 10 times
- Zach LaVine extended his streak of 30+ point games to four games
7. Next Up
After a day off tomorrow, the Indiana Pacers will conclude their two-game homestand against the Golden State Warriors. Pat Boylan will get things started at 6:30pm, and then Mark Boyle and Eddie Gill will have the play-by-play at 7pm on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.
