The Chicago Bulls have done it again! On Wednesday, playing the first night of a back-to-back, they allowed the lowly Indiana Pacers to snatch a defeat from the jaws of victory.
Indiana mounted a stunning fourth-quarter rally, outscoring Chicago 26-9 during the last 7:13 of regulation to steal a rare win in what has generally been a 2025-26 season to forget.
Although the Pacers are just 12-36 on the year, three of those victories have come against our hapless Bulls. Chicago has now dropped its last two, and at 23-24 is just 0.5 games better than the 23-25 Atlanta Hawks for the Eastern Conference’s No. 10 seed.
Trevor Ruszkowski-Imagn ImagesHow Did The Bulls Blow It Against The Pacers This Time?
Things were relatively even in the first half, in part because three-time All-Star Pascal Siakam — starting as a small-ball five thanks to Indiana’s horrific center rotation — was relatively inattentive on offense. Patrick Williams even saw some solid early results guarding him. Matas Buzelis, meanwhile, submitted an impressive 15-point first-half outburst. Josh Giddey returned to the starting lineup, albeit while still playing on a slight minutes restriction.
The Bulls seemingly pulled away early in the fourth quarter, building up a 14-point lead. Reserve guard Ayo Dosunmu, who had a quiet four-point first half, was on fire in the second, helping punish Pacers defenders with constant drives leading to up-and-unders.
Where a 13-4 Pacers run had helped Indiana rally during their surprise comeback against Chicago in November, this time it took an 18-4 run for Indiana to grab a two-point lead late. The offending two points? An Andrew Nembhard stepback jumper with 38.9 seconds left in regulation. It marked Indiana’s first lead since they were up 10-8 in the opening frame.
Stacey King’s favorite “clutch” Bull Nikola Vucevic banked in a triple to put Chicago up by a point, 110-109. An Aaron Nesmith up-and-under take against an overmatched Vucevic on a switch put Indiana up by a point, 111-110, at the 13.9-second mark.
Chicago had possession and plenty of time to cook something up. Giddey was reinserted into the game for some passing and scoring. Indiana burned the foul it had left to give, forcing Chicago to reset. Siakam tipped away a pass intended for a Buzelis lob. Chicago was gifted possession once again — but somehow, miraculously, squandered its good fortune. Coby White blew a drive attempt against a trailing Johnny Furphy and a doubling Nesmith.
Dosunmu fouled Furphy, who promptly nailed both his free throws to put the Pacers up by three points with 2.3 seconds remaining and no Bulls timeouts left. Nembhard easily knocked away a Giddey inbounds pass attempt, clinching the comeback win.
Chicago now falls to a 16-12 record in clutch games. Next up, it will play a Miami squad also suiting up for the second night of a back-to-back. This is a bad Bulls team, and any threats from the rumor mill that Arturas Karnisovas wants to be a trade deadline “buyer” should be effectively quelled by yet another awful defensive effort late.
Bulls MVP of the Night: Jalen Smith — He quietly logged a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double in his return to the bench, and was the Bulls’ only mobile defensive big in this one to make much of an impact in the second half. The Maryland product (and ex-Pacer) now extends his career-best streak of double-digit scoring nights to nine.
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