On Sunday in Indianapolis, the Indiana Pacers look for their third win this season over their Central Division counterpart Chicago Bulls.
The Pacers beat the Bulls 132-123 on Dec. 6 in Chicago and 129-113 on Jan. 8 at home. The two wins contributed to Indiana’s 15-0 record when the Pacers score 122 points or more this season.
Indiana is also 18-2 when it scores at least 120 points, though it comes into Sunday’s contest off a 125-120 loss on Friday in Miami. Pascal Siakam scored 36 points, one shy of his season-high, but surrendering 57.1 percent shooting from the floor to the Heat doomed the Pacers to their 12th loss when giving up at least 125 points.
Indiana is 4-14 when allowing 124 points or more this season. The Pacers give up an average of 115.4 points per game, one shy of their 116.4-point per game scoring offensive output.
“We’ve got to do a better job of coming up with loose balls,” said Tyrese Haliburton, who is averaging 18.4 points and team-highs of 8.8 assists and 1.4 steals per game. “And sustaining and closing out (with) leads.”
Chicago, meanwhile, comes into Sunday’s contest ranked in the NBA’s top-third of scoring offense at 116.5 points per game. The Bulls posted 142 and 125 points in their last two wins, including Friday’s 125-115 overtime defeat of Toronto.
However, Chicago ranks next-to-last in scoring defense, allowing 120.3 points per game. The Bulls have given up at least 121 points in eight of their last nine losses as they jockey for the Eastern Conference play-in.
The Bulls occupy 10th place through Saturday, good for the last play-in spot, 2 1/2 games ahead of No. 11 Brooklyn and three games behind ninth-place Atlanta. Although Indiana comes into Sunday playing for a top-four spot in the East — tied with Milwaukee with 24 games left in the regular season — Chicago players view this stretch with equal significance.
“It’s important for us, especially all of us as a younger team, to get that experience winning,” Coby White told the Chicago Sun-Times. “To experience winning and playing in those big-time games.”
The 25-year-old White was on the older side of Chicago’s starting lineup on Friday, which included 22-year-old Josh Giddey and 20-year-old Matas Buzelis. The Bulls have trended younger in key roles since trading 11-year veteran Zach LaVine to Sacramento as part of a three-team deal with San Antonio last month.
Zach Collins, acquired from San Antonio in the trade, is averaging 11.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game in six outings with the Bulls. He stepped into the starting rotation at center with veteran big man Nikola Vucevic sidelined the last three games due to a calf injury.
Vucevic is averaging 19.1 points and 10.3 rebounds per game, but Collins has stepped in to record double-doubles of 21 points and 17 rebounds and 15 points and 13 rebounds in Chicago’s last two games.
Collins will be crucial to the Bulls’ efforts to slow Indiana interior stars Siakam and Myles Turner. Siakam is averaging a team-leading 20.6 points and 7.3 rebounds per game, while Turner is producing 15.5 points and 6.5 rebounds per game.
