In what was a thrilling game, it was a Jimmy Butler's alley-oop from Pau Gasol with less than two seconds left on the clock that sealed a huge win for the Chicago Bulls over the Indiana Pacers in overtime.
Spark from the bench for the Bulls
It was business as usual for the Bulls in terms of bench production, as they got another spark from Bobby Portis and Aaron Brooks in this game. The two ended up scoring 11 of Chicago's last 13 points as they continue to play great basketball. The Brooks and Portis show led the way for Chicago as the two teams were tied at 21 at the end of the first quarter. Brooks and Paul George led the way for their respective teams with seven points a piece.
It was more of the same from Chicago as they got great production off the bench. Without Derrick Rose tonight, the only scoring point guard was Brooks and he stepped up for Chicago. But he got help from fellow bench members in Portis and Tony Snell, who seemed to bounce back after being benched against the Dallas Mavericks last weekend. But it was Brooks who stole the spotlight as he had 18 points and hit all four of his three point attempts in the half. It was Chicago who had the 50-40 lead going into halftime.
Indiana makes it interesting
The third quarter belonged to the Indiana Pacers who made it a game in the third. Chicago got into some foul trouble when Taj Gibson picked up his fourth foul. Without Gibson on the court to help with rebounding, the Pacers had seven offensive rebounds in the quarter and made a run. The Bulls then went cold from the field and Indiana's offense got hot. It was a complete switch of momentum as the Pacers stormed back and took a 61-60 lead with a few minutes left in the half. But Chicago was the team that took the 66-62 lead into the fourth, but it was a tight game for sure.
The game stayed close as the Bulls and Pacers kept battling back and forth, but it was Indiana who held the 89-84 lead with less than a minute left. But behind Jimmy Butler, the Bulls stormed back to tie the game at 89 with Butler getting a shooters roll for the game-tying three. Butler scored the last seven points in regulation and played great defense on the last possession of regulation to stop the Pacers and send this game into overtime.
Gasol to Butler combo ends it
Overtime was tense as usual as the teams continued to battle. Chicago had a 100-95 lead with 58 seconds left but the Pacers tied the game with a great 5-0 run, captivated by a fade away three by Monta Ellis in the corner with 3.7 seconds left.
With the game tied, Chicago scored on a great play by both Pau Gasol and Jimmy Butler. Gasol received the ball at the top of the three-point line and threw a lob to the rim towards Butler. It was Butler's right hand that seemed to tip the ball in over the outstretched body of Paul George, as Chicago would win by the final score of 102-100.
Top Performers
Pacers: George Hill would lead the Pacers in scoring with 20 points on 8-of-15 shooting from the field. Paul George added 19 points, five rebounds and four steals. Lavoy Allen finished the game with a double-double (10 points, 12 rebounds), while Monta Ellis struggled from the field with 13 points on 4-of-19 shooting. Rodney Stuckey added 13 points off the bench.
Bulls: Aaron Brooks came off the bench to lead all scorers with 29 points on 11-of-20 shooting from the field. Jimmy Butler added 28 points on 8-of-16 shooting from the field and 11-of-13 from the free throw line. Pau Gasol notched another double-double (13 points, 11 rebounds), while Bobby Portis was another punch off the bench with 16 points and seven rebounds.
Up Next
The Indiana Pacers will hose the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday night, while the Chicago Bulls will stay home and face the New York Knicks on Friday.