On Friday, the Indiana Pacers said they are not putting up with anymore 'bull.' With a strong statement win in Chicago, the offense played as if their poor 90-point performance from Wednesday was a memory in the distant past.
The 132-123 defeat of the Chicago Bulls gave Indiana just their third win on the road and 10th overall in the season. The Pacers' offense managed to score at least 65 points or more in both halves.
With the win, the Pacers now end their four-game losing streak and can work toward building a new win streak. They will have that chance on Sunday when they host the Charlotte Hornets.
Here's a gander at the game's top performers and pretenders.
Winner: Tyrese Haliburton
If the starting point guard is going to be listed as a winner with 17 points and eight assists in a losing effort against the Brooklyn Nets, then he certainly is going to be named one in this contest.
Haliburton scored 23 points and produced eight more assists. He even connected on five of his nine shots from behind the three-point arc.
The Pacers' captain showed up on defense. He not only had a plus/minus of +5, he also was credited with a pair of steals.
Ball management as the team's leading floor general was strong in the game, too. Haliburton only turned the ball over once against the Bulls.
The All-Star player was one of three starters to not make it to the free throw line. However, just like the rest of his team, Haliburton played smart defense as he and the rest of his teammates each committed two fouls or less in the game.
Loser: The Pacers' ability to defend, especially from behind the arc
Look, Indiana shot lights out from three-point territory. They made 18 of their 29 attempts.
They shot the three-ball more efficiently than Chicago on Friday. However, the Pacers still allowed the Bulls to make 21 of their 50 attempts from behind the arc.
That's 63 points from deep. That's almost as many points the Pacers scored in either half. Unacceptable!
Head coach Rick Carlisle has yet to figure out how to get his roster to commit to better defense. They give up the league's third-highest field goal percentage (48.5%) and the sixth-highest free throw attempts a game (24.6).
Luckily, they only allowed the Bulls to take 12 free throws on Friday. While it's great to see Indiana scoring 30+ points in three quarters in Chicago, their opponent also accomplished the same feat.
Winner: Indiana's starting frontcourt
Yep, all three of these Pacers starters did well. Their starting small forward, power forward and center added to the scoreboard nicely.
Pascal Siakam was only two points off from Haliburton's team-high. The former Toronto Raptor made all four of his free throw attempts.
Another starter for Indiana that made four points off freebies was Bennedict Mathurin. After scoring just eight points in Wednesday night's loss against the Nets.
The small forward added 19 points for the Pacers with ease. He also had five rebounds, an assist, and a block to add.
The current longest-tenured Pacer player, Turner contributed 15 points and collected seven boards. In addition to his four assists, the veteran center racked up two more steals and swatted away two more shots from the opposing team.
Turner is ranked in the top-five shot-blockers this season. Another thing the Indiana Pacers were able to block on Friday, besides four of the Bulls' shots, was their fifth loss in a row.
Loser: Andrew Nembhard
Yes, the starting shooting guard did not fill up the stat sheet nicely in this one. He was one of the other two starters aside from Haliburton to not make it to the charity stripe.
While six rebounds and four assists with a pair of steals is not bad by any means, Nembhard was on the court for 22 minutes and only took five shots.
To put this into perspective, three of the Pacers' players from their second unit played more than 20 minutes and two scored in double figures. The third scored seven points, which is one less than Nembhard's eight.
Winner: The Pacers' second unit
All four players that checked in from Indiana's bench played abover average or better.
Rookie Johnny Furphy clocked 10 minutes and made both of his field goal attempts, including one from behind the arc.
Jarace Walker scored seven points and also made a three-pointer. He had five rebounds with four assists while playing for 24 minutes.
The second year forward had more steals than turnovers, too. Walker had one steal and did not commit a single turnover.
Toppin and McConnell delivered, yet again. The pair of second unit reliable players combined to go 14 for 22 from the floor including four of five from beyond the arc.
Seven boards, five dimes and a block from Toppin was a nice complement to a pair of rebounds and steals with five rebounds from backup point guard McConnell.