Chicago Bulls point guard Derrick Rose (right) tries to drive to the basket past Indiana Pacers point guard CJ Watson during the second quarter of their NBA clash on Wednesday. (Pat Lovell-USA TODAY Sports)
DPA/Los Angeles
No bull, the Indiana Pacers remain the lone unbeaten team in the NBA, but their work is far from over. Paul George scored 21 points, David West had 17 with 13 rebounds and the Pacers pulled away to beat the visiting Chicago Bulls 97-80 on Wednesday night.
The Pacers have a perfect 5-0 record for the first time since joining the NBA in 1971-72.
“We’re challenging ourselves to go out and compete every night and we feel very confident coming into games,” George said.
“We’re undefeated but we’re not number 1 yet,” he added, alluding to the two-time defending champion Miami Heat. “We know what the main goal is and there’s so much more work for us to do.”
Lance Stevenson dropped in all 15 of his points after intermission, and Argentine-native Luis Scola added eight of his 12 off the bench in the final frame, when the Pacers outscored their guests, 34-18.
“I knew I had a tough start,” Stephenson said. “I just wanted to stay focused and help my teammates win the game.”
With neither team able to grab control in the physically-demanding Central Division collision, the Bulls led by two with 8 minutes 38 seconds remaining before the Pacers went on a game-breaking 10-0 run.
Stephenson stroked a pair of triples to bookend the spurt in-between baskets by Scola, making it 77-69 with 5:15 remaining.
The Bulls drew within five on a 3-pointer by Jimmy Butler, but Scola hit a jumper and C.J. Watson nailed a triple at the other end, as the gap eventually grew to 19 to the delight of the more than 18,000 roaring fans at Conseco Field House.
“Playing the second game of a back-to-back, our guys rose to the challenge,” Pacers coach Frank Vogel said referring to Tuesday’s win at Detroit. “The fourth quarter is when you’re supposed to tire and our guys showed a great deal of mental toughness.” Derrick Rose and Luol Deng dropped in 17 points apiece for the Bulls.
