Late game execution costs Indiana Pacers vs Chicago Bulls, DeMar DeRozan
INDIANAPOLIS — The Indiana Pacers had a chance to continue their climb in the standings on Wednesday with the Chicago Bulls in town. A win would have been Indiana's third in a row, and they would have remained in sixth-place in the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls have a below-.500 record, but they already beat the Pacers in Indianapolis once this season, and the hosts were on the second night of a back-to-back. It wasn't a guarantee the blue and gold would win, but a team that hopes to be in the postseason should be able to take down Chicago at home with momentum behind them.
Instead, it was a heartbreaking loss for the Pacers. They fell in overtime to Chicago, with DeMar DeRozan leading the way with 46 points for the visitors. He was terrific and changed the game, yet Indiana's loss was largely self-inflicted.
They put themselves in position to win. The Pacers were ahead multiple times throughout the fourth quarter, including many leads in the final few minutes. Myles Turner was raining in threes, and he drilled one to give the Pacers a three-point lead with under one minute to play. All they had to do was hold on.
Chicago hit a two-point shot on their next possession, but Pascal Siakam had a terrific chasedown block with 10 seconds remaining to keep the blue and gold ahead on the scoreboard. Between Turner's shooting, Siakam's acrobatic play, and a pair of free throws from Aaron Nesmith, the Pacers were up three with four seconds left. They were on the verge of a third-straight victory.
Instead, disaster struck. Nesmith intentionally fouled DeRozan moments later to prevent a three-point attempt. That fouled Nesmith out of the game, which turned out to be significant. But the Pacers would only lose if they made another mistake in the next action.
"It was a roller coaster," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said of the final sequence. He noted that games like this are all about microscopic details.
Those details were going to be vital in the coming stretch. DeRozan had exactly one path to give his team a chance to win: make the first free throw, then miss the second and have the Bulls corral the rebound before another bucket. He sank the first of two from the charity stripe.
Indiana subbed in several post players for the ensuing rebound. DeRozan missed on purpose, and with the ball floating over the middle of the court, Pacers forward Obi Toppin couldn't quite reach it with both hands. He tried to tip it to safety to end the game, but it went out of bounds and set up a chance for the Bulls to tie the game or win it at the buzzer.
DeRozan, of course, took advantage.
"We were one rebound away," Carlisle said after the game. "That's one of the dangers is that if you can't rebound, it can bite you," he added of the strategy to foul up by three.
The math says that fouling was the right choice. Indiana just didn't execute on the rebound, and they weren't good enough to slow DeRozan on the final shot. They still had a chance in overtime, but they had lost Nesmith for the extra period since he fouled out on the final intentional foul. A different player committing the infraction made sense.
Turner continued to drop in threes in the extra period, and the Pacers were up with 2:20 to go. But they still couldn't stop DeRozan. He scored the first eight points for Chicago in overtime, and the visitors quickly regained the lead.
The Bulls never gave it back. Indiana got within one possession twice, but they didn't get the key stops they needed late.
"Our defense wasn't good enough," Turner said. They tried trapping DeRozan to get the ball out of his hands, but the Bulls moved it well and found good shots once the star guard distributed.
"Players like that put you in a bind," Carlisle explained.
Despite his incredible play all night, DeRozan missed a foul shot with nine seconds to go, and it gave Indiana a chance to tie the game. Star guard Tyrese Haliburton came around a screen from Turner and took a three at the buzzer, but good defense prevented Haliburton from getting off a clean look. He missed, and the Bulls took down the Pacers 132-129.
Despite a late lead and multiple plays that could have sealed the deal, the Pacers fell short. In their currently tight standings race, that can't happen. They need to close out games like that.
"Disappointing. It's a gut punch," Carlisle said. It was his team's first overtime outing of the season.
The Pacers did well in many ways during the fourth quarter and extra period, but they just couldn't stop DeRozan. He finished with 27 points in the second half plus overtime, tied for more than any player on Indiana's roster in total. He was unbelievable at times, hitting tough shot after tough shot. It was his highest scoring game this season.
"I think we executed right," Pacers center Jalen Smith said of his team's play late. "DeMar DeRozan, I mean, he's DeMar DeRozan," he added, calling it a good defense, better offense situation.
Rookie forward Jarace Walker agreed. "It was unexpected. Crazy," he said of the final minutes. "Gotta stay ready and bring whatever you can to the game."
What Indiana brought in the final seconds was a missed rebound, a foul from perhaps the wrong player, and a tough time stopping DeRozan. In overtime, they just weren't good enough defensively. On the night that the Pacers overcame tired legs to give themselves a chance in the final minute, they came up just short. They can't repeat that down the stretch of this season.
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- Slow starts, like last week's vs Timberwolves, holding Indiana Pacers back during a key point in the season. CLICK HERE.
- Indiana Pacers chasing the playoffs and watching the standings as March arrives. CLICK HERE.
- DeMar DeRozan's 46 points were too much for the Indiana Pacers in an overtime loss to the Chicago Bulls. CLICK HERE.
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