Run Out

I actually forgot that tonight's game against the Indiana Pacers was the one rescheduled from the earlier postponement.  That said, I hoped for a high-quality game, which is what I got.  Too bad the Bulls were the team bit by the injury bug and facing a club tied for the best home record in the East in their building.  With Joakim Noah and Kirk Hinrich on the floor, perhaps I wouldn't be discussing a 111-101 loss.  By the way, this ends the Bulls' winning streak in games in which they scored 100.

Momentum went back and forth for almost 48 minutes, resulting in run after run that gave each team the lead.  Finally, the Pacers showed why they were picked to win the Central in the preseason and also why they're superior to the Nets, who barely beat an even-less-healthy Bulls squad on Friday.  They're tall, athletic and can shoot from anywhere as long as they create their own shots, which happens often.

David West led the parade with 29 points, showing why he should have been an All-Star.  The Pacer that earned the honor, Paul George, had 21 of his own.  Not to be outdone, George Hill scored 22.  Rounded out by Lance Stephenson's 15, the usually poor-shooting Pacers (.428, 27th in the league) were 53 percent from the floor.  Though they average 92 points (29th), it mattered little on this night.  Even teams that rely primarily on defense have breakout games on the other end.  The Bulls, unfortunately, happened to be the recipient here.

The already shorthanded Bulls nearly became more so when Marco Belinelli knocked down a three on a foul, but landed awkwardly on his foot.  After a swollen ankle was taped up, Belinelli went on to have his biggest game of the year, scoring a season-high 24.  The ankle will probably hurt like hell in the morning, but he'll tell you it was worth it to keep his team in it.  All five starters were in double figures, led by 19 from Nate Robinson, just named the Eastern Conference Player of the Week.  If Luol Deng had scored more than 13 and the remaining three went higher than 10 each, a different outcome might have happened.

The Bulls can step up at anytime regardless of opponent or player availability.  Eventually though, missing key players will catch up.  The Nets and Hawks are decent teams, but not more than second-best in their respective divisions.  In the Central, there's a more squeezed battle to the top.  Though the Pacers are now tied for the lead in the division, they hold the tiebreaker, so that makes them the de facto first-place team.  That's currently the difference between the third and fourth seed in the East, so before you say divisional standings don't matter, yes, they do.

The road trip continues Thursday when the Bulls head to the mountains to face the Denver Nuggets.  It's unusual for an East team to draw the second game on TNT, so grab a nap before staying up late for some basketball.  Of course, if you stay up late anyway, just go about your business until tipoff.  Me?  I'll be working.  No choice but to watch there.  Gotta love your job sometimes.