Pacers grab Chicago by the horns, beat Bulls

The Indiana Pacers played an ugly game against the Chicago Bulls, but they found a way to pull it out.

I’m usually a process over results guy. But a win is a win, and that is all the Indiana Pacers should care about after this gross game. They didn’t do great. But they did pull it out at home:

The game was ugly in that it was sluggish. The final score would likely have been two numbers in the 80s had the Bulls not excessively fouled down the stretch of the game.

A lot of other yucky stuff happened. The Pacers shot 27 percent from three, and without Darren Collison, that became 3/18. They turned it over 18 times. They just looked like they returned from a road trip, and it wasn’t pretty.

But there’s always some beauty in the game of basketball, like this:

And this:

So, between the ugly and the pretty, what happened?

Myles Turner played good, and in a different way

Most of Myles Turner‘s best games are when he shoots a solid percentage from the field. Tonight was different.

He was 8/17, but he had 18 points, 11 rebounds, and showed off a nice post game. He had 5 blocks and changed the game on the defensive end of the floor. Rarely does Turner have a solid offensive game without hitting his outside shot, but tonight he did. It was a joy to watch.

And speaking of Turner…

Domantas Sabonis and Myles Turner closed the game together

For the first time ever, the duel centers lineup was in when the final buzzer sounds. Thad Young sat it out. Nate McMillan said he thought the young bugs were playing well and fit well against the Bulls frontcourt, so he rolled with both at the end of the game. And it worked.

Turner was protecting the paint, and Domantas Sabonis was grabbing the rebounds. They were playing good enough defense to keep the team in the positives despite mucking up the spacing. It worked, and it helped the Pacers get the W.

Darr3n Collison? Darr3n Collison!

Darren Collison’s 3pt shooting percentage jumped by over 2 percent tonight. He is now close to league average after shooting 3/4 from the outside. He had 23 points on 7 shots, a ridiculous efficiency.

The Pacers needed him to have this game, and after struggling all season, he saved the day.

Now on to some grades:

The Pacers take on the Orlando Magic on Friday night in Orlando for their next game. Hopefully, they can keep things rolling.