Takeaways & Player Grades: Indiana Pacers 120, Chicago Bulls 105

While the Indiana Pacers were able to keep things tight, the tone Matas Buzelis set in the first quarter helped Chicago secure the 33-30 advantage heading into the second quarter. I know that may not feel worthy of much praise, but it marked only the second time in nine games that the Bulls had won the opening frame.

Yes, it's been that bleak.

A Defensive Meltdown

While the scoring under 110 points for the third time in four games is a major problem within itself, the Bulls' defense easily remains this team's biggest eyesore. They allowed the Indiana Pacers to shoot 53.6 percent from the field, which was their second-best shooting effort of the season.

Their 46.2 percent success rate from behind the arc also happened to be their best yet, as they drained 18 triples and outscored Chicago 54-39 from downtown. Bennedict Mathurin had six of those threes, while Pascal Siakam knocked down five, which tied his season high. The Pacers finished the game with 120 points in regulation for only the fourth time this season. They had entered the evening averaging the second-fewest points in the NBA and shooting a league-worst 32.3 percent from long range.

To make matters worse, Indiana did all this scoring while dishing out only 24 assists. They were simply beating the Bulls with wide-open pull-up threes and straight line drives to the rim. After shooting 14-15 in the restricted area during last week's meeting, Indiana went 16-21. Anything this team wanted, they were able to get, especially to start the third quarter.

The Chicago Bulls came out of the locker room like they had just watched a documentary on algae growth. They had absolutely no life in their eyes and allowed the Pacers to rattle off an easy 18-4 run. Indiana was suddenly up 80-61. Rotations were repeatedly late or completely botched as Indiana connected on four threes during that run.

While Chicago would eventually put together their own 20-4 run later in the quarter to come within striking distance, a familiar problem presented itself in the fourth quarter. Not only did the Bulls seemingly exert too much energy closing the gap, but they had no answer for the Pacers' best player. Pascal Siakam completely dominated their defense down the stretch, scoring 9 points in the final 6 minutes of play to shut the door on Chicago.

What's With the Turnovers?

The turnovers have stood out most when watching the Chicago Bulls' ice-cold offense. Unlike during the first two weeks of the season, when passes were sharply flying from side to side, the Bulls have been sloppy and slow.

They finished tonight with 19 turnovers and allowed the Pacers to score 22 points off those mistakes. For what it's worth, Indiana came into the night averaging the sixth-fewest opponent turnovers per game. It's not that this group was picking the Bulls' pockets or expertly jumping passing lanes. The Bulls were simply throwing ill-advised passes or mishandling the ball on drives to the rim.

One of the few areas where the Pacers have ranked rather positively all year is the turnover department. They are not a team that frequently shoots itself in the foot. All the more reason for the Bulls to be extra careful with the basketball!. You're not going to have many opportunities to right your wrongs.

Five Player Grades

Matas Buzelis – B+
Stats: 19 PTS, 12 REB, 2 AST, 1 STL, 1 BLK

We pretty discussed a lot of the good from Matas Buzelis above. He also deserves credit for continuing to be more active on the glass. He was struggling in this department to begin the year, but now has 6+ boards in three of his last four games, as well as two double-doubles.

So why didn't he get an A? Well, I'm not sure anyone deserves an A in the thick of a six-game losing streak. Plus, he disappeared at times in the middle of the game and still committed a team-high six turnovers.

Jevon Carter – B
Stats: 14 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST, 1 STL

Jevon Carter earned some love tonight. Billy Donovan went with the veteran as the sixth man, and he repaid him by starting the night 3-3 from long range and finishing 4-8. The Bulls got what they needed from him.

Coby White – C
Stats: 22 PTS, 6 AST, 3 REB

Considering he sat out the past three games and was on a minutes restriction, this was a decent performance from Coby White. He only shot 6-14 from the field, but he did take advantage of the Pacers' fouling habit and went 9-12 from the charity stripe.

Nikola Vucevic – D
Stats: 8 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST

If Nikola Vucevic wants out, I don't think anyone can blame him. The big man really struggled with Jay Huff, but he looked pretty unmotivated overall tonight and only stayed on the floor for 26 minutes total. His seven shot attempts tied a season low.

Josh Giddey – D
Stats: 9 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST, 1 STL

On a night where the Chicago Bulls really needed Josh Giddey, the guard had his worst game of the year by far. He shot 2-9 from the field and forked the ball over five times. He looked completely out of sync and had a really hard time with the physicality of the Pacers' backcourt.