New on Sports Illustrated: Oladipo spurs late rally as Pacers run past Bulls in OT

-

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) Victor Oladipo's only 3-pointer tied the score with 10 seconds left in regulation, and Malcolm Brogdon scored seven of his 15 points in overtime, helping the Indiana Pacers rally for a 115-106 victory over Chicago on Wednesday night.

Oladipo had nine points in his first game back since suffering a season-ending knee injury last January. T.J. Warren had 25 points to lead the Pacers, who have won eight of their last 10. Brogdon also had eight rebounds and nine assists.

Chandler Hutchinson finished with a career-high 21 points, while Zach LaVine added 20 for Chicago, which lost its eighth straight in the series.

The night belonged to Oladipo, who hadn't played since rupturing a quad tendon in his right last year.

Coach Nate McMillan told reporters before the game that Oladipo would come off the bench and be limited to 24 minutes. When he entered the game with 4:12 left in the first quarter, Bulls coach Jim Boylen shook Oladipo's hand at the scorer's table, the crowd roared and waved gold placards with the words ''Ready 4 Action,'' and some Chicago players applauded, too.

Clearly, Oladipo was rusty. He was 2 of 8 from the field and 1 of 7 on 3s in 21 minutes. He had two rebounds, four assists and two turnovers.

But he capped a 7-0 run to close regulation with the 3 that tied the score at 100.

LaVine had a chance to win it but lost the ball on the way up on a 7-foot runner and the ball rolled out of bounds as the buzzer sounded.

It gave the Pacers a jolt of energy and they took full advantage.

Justin Holiday opened the overtime with a 3, Brogdon followed with a layup and another 3 before sealing it with a dunk with 1:16 to play.

TIP-INS

Bulls: Thaddeus Young scored 16 points in his return to Indiana. ... Cristiano Felicio had 11 points and eight rebounds. ... Chicago was 6 of 33 on 3s and had 18 turnovers. .... The Bulls had a two-game winning streak snapped and have now lost eight straight in Indianapolis. ... LaVine has scored 20 or more points in 16 consecutive games, the longest streak of his career. ... The Bulls played without five injured players including Lauri Markkanen, Wendell Carter Jr. (sprained right ankle) and Otto Porter Jr.

Pacers: Domantas Sabonis had 15 points, 11 rebounds and five assists, his 37th double-double this season. ... Justin Holiday finished with 13 points and Jeremy Lamb had 10 points and five rebounds. ... Rookie Goga Bitadze had 10 points. ... Indiana was 7 of 27 on 3s. ... Warren has 23 games this season with 20 or more points. ... Myles Turner sat out with the flu.

UP NEXT

Chicago: Makes the second stop on its three-game trip Friday at Brooklyn.

Indiana: Hosts New York on Saturday, looking for its eighth consecutive victory in the series.

---

More AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBAbasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New on Sports Illustrated: NBA Draft Big Board 3.0: Top 80 Prospect Rankings

-
Image
Ranking the top 80 players in the 2021 NBA draft with the NCAA tournament in the rearview. View the original article to see embedded media. With three months until draft night and the NBA’s regular season winding down , the league at large has begun shifting full focus to the off-season. Players have until May 30 to declare as early entrants for the draft, after which point the predraft process will open up in full, leading up to the combine and lottery at the end of June . Our Big Board is long overdue for an update, and fully expanded out to 80 prospects as we all attempt to make sense of the big picture moving forward. As usual, the Big Board is primarily based on my personal evaluations from both live viewings and on film, in many cases dating back several years. The rankings also incorporate feedback and opinions I glean from NBA executives, scouts, and others around the industry. This is not a mock draft, and team fit is not considered, but it is also intended to be somewhat
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: The Patriots’ Post-Brady Era Begins Now

-
Image
In Mac Jones, Bill Belichick drafted a Round 1 quarterback for the first time ever—and looks to usher in a return to dominance. Of course the first time Bill Belichick drafts a first-round quarterback, it’s one for whom he could get an unvarnished scouting report from good buddy Nick Saban —and without even having to do any draft-day maneuvering. Now, the post-Tom Brady era in New England really begins. The Patriots treated 2020 as something of a gap year, with a league-high eight opt-outs due to the COVID-19 pandemic and a starting quarterback, Cam Newton, who didn't sign with the team until June. They were, for the first time in two decades, mediocre, but that 7–9 record bought them the ticket to a fresh start: the No. 15 pick, which they used Thursday night on Alabama QB Mac Jones. The oft-cited statistic that Belichick had never drafted a QB higher than pick No. 62—used on Jimmy Garoppolo in 2014—was inherently flawed, given that Belichick had Brady as a starter for 19 of
Read more

New on Sports Illustrated: NCAA Board of Governors Unanimously Votes to Extend Mark Emmert’s Contract

-
Despite recent controversy, the NCAA Board of Governors voted unanimously to extend Mark Emmert's contract through 2025. The NCAA Board of Governors unanimously voted to extend president Mark Emmert's contract through Dec. 31, 2025. The news was announced Tuesday as a one-line news item buried within a larger update after the board's quarterly meeting. He's the fifth president in NCAA history and has been in the role since 2010. Emmert previously held high-ranking roles at Washington, LSU, Connecticut and Montana State. His base salary is reportedly $2.7 million.  Within the announcement, the Board reaffirmed its commitment to updating name, image and likeness rules. Dellenger: Inside the Hidden Industry of Name, Image and Likeness and the Changing World for College Athletes Emmert came under fire after disparities were shown between the men's and women's college basketball tournaments this year, specifically the weight room. Prior to the public backlash,
Read more