It would have been so sweet.
The Indiana Pacers were down by 20 the Chicago Bulls at one stage and behind by 16 entering the fourth quarter. Then Chris Copeland caught fire and the Bulls went cold, allowing the Pacers to come all the way back and take a three-point lead down the stretch. The Bulls responded with some big plays through Jimmy Butler, though the Pacers still had a chance to win it with 0.5 seconds left on the clock (should have been more, but the refs missed Frank Vogel trying to call a timeout for at least a second).
The loss of that second probably cost the Pacers, as CJ Watson broke free and found himself wide open at the corner with no one around him, but he rushed the three at the buzzer and the shot was short. The comeback falls short as the Bulls hold off the Pacers, 92-90.
Cope ended up leading the team with 17 as he utilized both his long range shot and size against smaller Bulls defenders. George Hill and CJ Miles had 11 apiece, while Luis Scola, David West and Solomon Hill each had 10. The Pacers had 13 turnovers, some of them unforced ones down the stretch, but where they lost the game was at the free throw line, where they were a very pedestrian 13-21, whereas the Bulls were a solid 29-33.
It was a valiant effort but ultimately a fruitless one because, let’s face it, the Bulls are just better. The loss puts the Pacers back at 11-21 and in a win-loss-win-loss pattern after games against the Pelicans, Pistons, Nets and now Bulls.
Next up, a New Year’s Eve date with the Miami Heat at home. It will be the second time these two teams face off since the Heat ousted the Pacers in the conference finals last season (without LeBron James, of course).
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