Game #20 - Bulls vs Pacers - Game Thread

Defeating inferior teams despite a rash of injuries is something the Bulls have proved they can do while racking up the league’s best record.

Beating one of the better teams in the Eastern Conference without two of their best players is a different matter, and the Indiana Pacers snapped the Bulls’ eight-game home winning streak with a 95-90 victory Wednesday night.

The Bulls were without Luol Deng and Taj Gibson but still had a chance against the Pacers, who pushed the Bulls during their first-round playoff series last season and rank among the league leaders in rebounding and opponents’ field-goal percentage. And it was the Pacers who made the plays down the stretch to hold off the Bulls.

Even though Ronnie Brewer played one of the best games of his career, the Bulls missed Deng, who doesn’t get enough credit for what he does for the team and probably won’t as long as Derrick Rose is around. The Bulls also missed Gibson’s defense and rebounding against the Pacers, who outrebounded the Bulls 44-41 and outscored them 50-40 in the paint.

“Getting ready to play is a big part of this league,” said coach Tom Thibodeau, who didn’t think his team prepared well enough. “You’ve got to be ready to play every night. As soon as you start feeling good about yourself, you’re going to get knocked on your butt. That’s the way it is.”

It was interesting to see the Bulls post game reaction, though almost as much as the Pacers.

The Pacers’ players were jubilant with West punching the air and Danny Granger running off with a No. 1 finger held aloft like the Joe Namath picture from Super Bowl III.

“I still (will) never forget how they celebrated just from winning this game,” said Rose. “I can’t wait to play them again. The next game… we’ll definitely be ready for that game.”

The Bulls locker room was deathly funereal. I thought it a bit of an overreaction given the team is 16-4, though it does say something about how serious they take the game, even one in the regular season of a most irregular season. It suggests just how serious this Bulls team is, which is a credit to them.