06-06-2019, 12:20 AM
CHICAGO -- Taj Gibson led five players in double figures with 23 points and the Chicago Bulls brushed off a poor offensive first half to rally for an 89-77 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Kirk Hinrich had 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting, Mike Dunleavy scored 13, Jimmy Butler 12 and Joakim Noah added 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Gibson, who was 9 for 15 from the field, also had eight rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench. The Bulls (40-31) pulled within two percentage points of Toronto (39-30) for third place in the Eastern Conference. The win also prevented Indiana from clinching the Central Division title on Chicagos home court. The Pacers are looking to win consecutive division crowns for the second time since joining the NBA (1998-99 and 1999-2000). The Pacers, who were led by Paul Georges 21 points, have dropped three straight and six of eight on the road. Theyve lost four of five at the United Center, including both visits this season. The Pacers earned a 91-79 victory over the Bulls on Friday night at Indiana. With the NBAs top two defensive teams on the court, points figured to come at a premium, and that certainly was the case in the first half. Neither team managed to score 20 in either of the first two quarters, and the Pacers took a 34-33 halftime lead when George Hill (12 first-half points) hit a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left. The Bulls were 14 of 44 (31.8 per cent) from the field in the first half, including 1 for 10 on 3-pointers. Perhaps the most entertaining portion of the half came when the crowd got on Pacers centre Roy Hibbert for an apparent flop, a hot topic between the teams in recent days. On the play, Hibbert was fouled by Noah as he was beginning to go up for a shot attempt. While there definitely was enough contact to warrant a foul, it appeared to be light. Hibbert, though, dropped to the court flailing as if he had been hit by a flagrant foul. After the replay was shown on the scoreboard, the crowd began to boo. Noah stood off to the side with a big grin on his face. Following Fridays game in Indiana, Gibson accused the Pacers of flopping, and it was still the topic of conversation at the morning shootaround for both teams. "I mean, I havent taken a charge in probably four years," Hibbert said at the shootaround. "Hes entitled to his opinion. Im just going to go out there and play hard." The Bulls finally got into an offensive rhythm in the third quarter, starting the second half with a 16-5 run to take a 49-39 lead. A few minutes later, Indiana had cut the lead to 55-49 and George had the ball on a fast break ahead of the field. Hinrich, though, caught him from behind and looked as if he was going to give an intentional foul. Instead, Hinrich stripped the ball and the Bulls headed in the opposite direction as George complained that he was fouled. The Bulls completed the four-point swing on Gibsons dunk to make it 57-49 with just more than 4 minutes left in the third quarter. The Bulls took a 64-56 lead into the fourth after scoring 31 points in the third. They had balanced scoring in the quarter with Dunleavy and Hinrich each tallying seven points. Carlos Boozer, Butler and Gibson added five apiece. The Bulls were never seriously threatened in the fourth and held on for a relatively comfortable win. NOTES: The Bulls posted a 110-94 victory in Indianas only previous visit to the United Center this season on Nov.16. Indiana won both games at home as the teams split the season series. ... Pacers coach Frank Vogel when asked if Hibbert was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year: "Hands down. Hes the best rim-protector on the best defence in the league. I think thats who the award should go to. Ill be very disappointed if he doesnt get the award this year." Hibberts main competition could be Noah, who received the endorsement of Rockets coach Kevin McHale a couple of weeks ago. . Former Bull C.J. Watson missed the game with a right hamstring strain. <a href="http://www.authenticraiderspro.com/Marcus-allen-raiders-jersey/">Marcus Allen Jersey</a>. Dr. James Andrews is to operate next week on the 24-year-old pitcher, who made the AL All-Star team last year. Moore will be the first Rays pitcher to undergo Tommy John surgery since Jason Isringhausen in June 2009. <a href="http://www.authenticraiderspro.com/Customized/">Custom Oakland Raiders Jerseys</a>. The Sioux Falls Canaries scored two in the seventh and three more in the eighth to come back from a 3-0 deficit and defeat the Winnipeg Goldeyes 5-3 in front of 6,769 at Shaw Park on Sunday afternoon. http://www.authenticraiderspro.com/Georg...rs-jersey/. 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Of the 10 teams in the last 20 years that have lost by 50-plus points, eight of them won the rematch. Philly is now two losses away from tying the 2009-10 New Jersey Nets (0-18) for the worst start to an NBA season. Monta Ellis posted 18 points, five assists and three swipes and Chandler Parsons tallied 17 points, six rebounds and six assists for Dallas, which has won three in a row and nine of its last 11 games. Final Score: Washington 83, New Orleans 80 Washington, DC (SportsNetwork.com) - Marcin Gortat posted 24 points and 13 rebounds to help the Washington Wizards hold off the New Orleans Pelicans 83-80 on Saturday. Bradley Beal had 12 points, John Wall totaled 11 points with seven assists and Paul Pierce scored 10 for the Wizards, who snapped a two-game losing streak. New Orleans Anthony Davis led all scorers with 30 points to go along with 13 rebounds. Jrue Holiday chipped in 17 points on 7-of-18 shooting in the Pelicans third straight loss. Final Score: Atlanta 105, Charlotte 75 Atlanta, GA (SportsNetwork.com) - Paul Millsap scored 14 of his 18 points in the first half and the Atlanta Hawks led by as many as 44 in a 105-75 win over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night. Mike Scott had 14 points, Dennis Schroder scored 12 and the two bench players led a 20-0 run that helped give the Hawks a 64-28 lead at halftime. Atlanta improved to 2-1 on a four-game homestand wiith its 12th win in the last 14 games against Charlotte.dddddddddddd Final Score: Cleveland 109, Indiana 97 Cleveland, OH (SportsNetwork.com) - Kevin Love had 28 points and 10 rebounds as the Cleveland Cavaliers defeated the Indiana Pacers 109-97 on Saturday night. Kyrie Irving posted 24 points, 10 boards and five assists, while LeBron James added 19 points and seven helpers for the Cavaliers, who have won three in a row on the heels of a four-game losing streak. 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