But Butler was able to block Paul George’s last second shot to hold on for the win. Chicago is 6-1 in games decided in regulation (0-2 in overtime).
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On the season, the Pacers average 96.5 points, 42.0 rebounds and 20.6 assists per game.
The Indiana Pacers (6-4) are coming from a 107-103 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday. Geltzeiler specifically mentioned the Pacers’ noticeable defensive downgrade with George at the no. 4 as possibly the reason why Larry Bird and company would be forced to pull the trigger on a trade.
“It was a dogfight”, said Taj Gibson (nine points, 11 rebounds), the only player to play the entire fourth quarter on either side. We’re winning games, so that’s the only thing that I’m anxious about.
Both ESPN’s Marc Stein and SI.com’s Jeremey Woo both had the Pacers moving the most from the previous week as IN moved 7 spots up to 11th and 12th, respectively.
After dominating the game early, taking a 13-point lead due to Rose’s aggressiveness in the first quarter, the Pacers climbed back into the game, mostly due to the shooting of C.J. Miles and George.
So ten games into the season, and the team has earned no more victories than it had in the off-season. A more impressive stat is that they had only allowed 90.5 points per game in the last six games.
Ginobili added 17 points for the Spurs while Boris Diaw and Danny Green hit for 12 and Parker and Tim Duncan scored 10 apiece. Even better: the Bulls now sit fifth in points allowed per possession, suggesting they might once again be trending back toward the hard-nosed brand of Bulls that have proven to be such a tough out in recent years, led by their rising star shooting guard.
Rose played in 51 of 82 regular-season games in 2014-’15 as he dealt with a variety of injuries, most notably another meniscus tear that required surgery. The Pacers then return home to play against their division rival, the Milwaukee Bucks, on November 21st.
Bulls guard Jimmy Butler had other ideas and denied George in his quest. Now that they’ve figured out how to cater to their superstar without abandoning the overall strategy, Paul George has gone back to being a stud and IN is back to looking like a playoff team.
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The Sixers committed a season-high 27 turnovers during Monday’s 92-86 loss to the Dallas Mavericks. If the Pacers can contain the Bucks length and prevent paint penetration, they will slow down the Bucks offensive execution.
