Indiana Pacers 132 – Chicago Bulls 123 (Dec. 6th, 2024) Game Recap

Source: Patrick McDermott / Getty

(CHICAGO, IL) – The Indiana Pacers (10-14) win their first road game in over a month by and end four game losing skid with 132-123 win over the Chicago Bulls (10-14).

1. First Quarter

For the third time in the last four games, Indiana’s starting lineup featured Tyrese Haliburton, Andrew Nembhard, Bennedict Mathurin, Pascal Siakam, and Myles Turner. It took over a minute for the first point in the game, coming from Mathurin on a free throw. Indiana led by three points and then Chicago tied it with a Zach LaVine triple. After trailing by three, the Pacers went from trailing 15-12 to leading 20-15 following a three from Mathurin, and five points from Haliburton. That would be the largest lead in the period for the Pacers as the Bulls caught fire in the final 4:10. The Bulls put up 17 points in the final 4:10 after being limited to 18 points in the opening 7:50. A large reason for those 17 points were Ayo Dosunmu (8 points) and Coby White (6 points). After twelve minutes of play, Indiana trailed 35-31. Haliburton registered 9 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds on 4/6 shooting in the opening quarter. Chicago’s leading scorer was Dosunmu with 8 points. Chicago entered the game second in the league in three-pointers and proved why in the opening quarter by going 9/17.

2. Second Quarter

After an electric first quarter, Indiana’s offense was even better in the first quarter and its defense was terrific as well. Former Pacer, Jalen Smith, converted a layup to make it 41-38 in the early stages of quarter two and then Indiana went on a run. The Pacers outscored the Bulls 18-3 to take the first double figure lead of the contest following a Haliburton triple to make it 56-44. Chicago would chop Indiana’s lead in half with 2:33 left in the half with a Josh Giddey floater. The Pacers closed the quarter out with a 9-2 surge to lead 67-54. It was a collective effort in the final 2:33 with Mathurin, Siakam, Nembhard, and Turner all scoring during that stretch. Turner gave Indiana its largest lead of the half with 36.1 seconds left after bringing down an offensive rebound and putting it back in off the glass to make it 67-52. Haliburton still paced all scorers with 12 points while dishing out five assists in the first half. Chicago’s leading scorer was LaVine with 10 points.

3. Third Quarter

After holding Chicago to just 19 points in the second quarter, Indiana allowed Chicago’s offense to go nuts in the third quarter. However, Indiana’s offense was operating at peak efficiency tonight and kept up with the Bulls. Siakam converted a nine-foot jumper with 10:11 left in the quarter to give Indiana its largest lead of the game at 72-56. Chicago responded with a 10-2 run to make it an eight-point contest with LaVine knocking down his fourth field goal in the first 3:47 of the period. The Bulls eventually made it a two-possession game when Ayo Dosunmu beat everyone down the court for a breakaway dunk with 6:04 left. At that point it was 82-77 and that would be the closest Chicago would get in the quarter. Indiana’s lead hovered between six and ten points. After thirty-six minutes of play, Indiana’s advantage was 103-93. Lavine led all players in scoring in the quarter with 16 points. Indiana’s leading scorer in the quarter was Toppin with 10 points. LaVine led all scorers with 26 points through three quarters.

4. Fourth Quarter

Over the course of the season, Indiana has struggled in the fourth quarter. Whether that is making a comeback and then stalling out or holding onto a lead that the Pacers have had for most of the game. Rick Carlisle’s team did not get off to the best start in the final twelve minutes by allowing Chicago to score seven straight points in one-minute to make it a three-point game. Coming out of the timeout, Indiana scored four straight points to take a touchdown lead after a McConnell field goal and two Siakam free-throws. Eventually Chicago made it a three-point game again with 6:53 left in the game after Giddey converted a layup. The Pacers had another run in them and really took control of the game again. Indiana went from leading 112-109 to 123-111 with 4:02 remaining in the contest. Haliburton and McConnell led the way during that stretch by scoring 10 of the 13 points with Haliburton assisting on the other three points. Chicago had no answers and lacked effort in the final four minutes with it being a second night of a back-to-back for the Bulls. Indiana’s eight game road losing streak and four game losing streak ends with a 132-123 win over Chicago.

5. Top Performers

Tyrese Haliburton (23p, 8a, 4r, 2s), Pascal Siakam (21p, 7r), Bennedict Mathurin (19p, 6r), Obi Toppin (17p, 7r, 5a), T.J. McConnell (17p, 5a, 2s), and Myles Turner (15p, 7r, 4a, 2s, 2b). For Chicago, Zach LaVine (32p, 3r, 3a), Coby White (19p, 9a, 4r), Ayo Dosunmu (15p, 5a, 2s, 2b), Nikola Vucevic (13p, 9r), Josh Giddey (10p, 6a, 5r), and Jalen Smith (10p, 7r). For tonight’s full box score, click here.

6. Notes

• Indiana Pacers snap 8 game road losing streak and 4 game losing streak
  • Previous road win was 11/4/24 at Dallas
• Indiana’s 3pt percentage of 62.1% is the best for any team in a game this season
• Indiana’s field goal percentage of 56.5% is the 2nd best for the Pacers this season
• Indiana’s rebounding margin of +9 tied the best margin in a game this season
• Indiana’s 132 are 2nd most points scored in a road game this season (134 at Dallas)
  • Indiana 4-0 when scoring 130+ this season
• Indiana has now picked up its first win on a Friday this season
  • Lost previous six games on Friday
• Indiana snapped Chicago’s streak of 7 games shooting 50% or better
• Indiana had 6 players with 15+ points
• Obi Toppin recorded 15+ points for the 7th time on the season
  • Toppin has scored 15+ points in 3 of the last 4 games
• Pascal Siakam recorded 20+ points for the 13th time on the season
• T.J. McConnell’s 17 points tied a season high
  • McConnell recorded 15+ points for the 4th time on the season
  • McConnell has scored 12+ points in 8 of the last 10 games
• Tyrese Haliburton recorded 20+ points for the 8th time on the season
• Zach LaVine recorded 20+ points for the 13th time on the season
  • LaVine recorded 30+ points for the 3rd time of the season

7. Next Up

The Indiana Pacers return to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the first time since Black Friday to take on the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday afternoon. Pat Boylan will get things started at 4:30pm with the pregame show, and Mark Boyl will have the play-by-play at 5pm with Eddie Gill on 93.5/107.5 The Fan.