Final
Series starts 11/6
| Game 1: Saturday, November 6th | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bulls | 90 | Final |
| Pacers | 100 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
| Game 2: Saturday, December 18th | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pacers | 71 | Final |
| Bulls | 85 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
| Game 3: Saturday, March 26th | ||
|---|---|---|
| Pacers | 96 | Final |
| Bulls | 100 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
| Game 4: Wednesday, April 20th | ||
|---|---|---|
| Bulls | 83 | Final |
| Pacers | 85 | |
| Recap »Boxscore » | ||
Coverage: FxMW
7:30 PM ET, December 18, 2004
United Center, Chicago, IL
Top Performers
Indiana: J. Tinsley 33 Pts, 7 Reb, 4 Ast, 2 Stl
Chicago: E. Curry 23 Pts, 13 Reb, 2 Ast, 1 Blk
CHICAGO (AP) -- Eddy Curry had season highs with 23 points and 13 rebounds Saturday night and the Chicago Bulls beat the Indiana Pacers 85-71 for their first three-game winning streak in two years.
The Bulls last had a three-game winning streak in December 2002, but haven't won four in a row since 1998 when their last championship team ran off 13 straight victories.
The Pacers, 5-9 since the suspensions of Ron Artest, Stephen Jackson and Jermaine O'Neal following a brawl in Detroit, stayed close behind the play of Jamaal Tinsley.
Tinsley scored a career-high 33 points before he was ejected after getting two technical fouls with 52 seconds to play. Jeff Foster had 18 rebounds to go with 12 points for Indiana, but Reggie Miller had a season-low four points on 2-of-13 shooting.
Kirk Hinrich added 19 points for the Bulls.
Hinrich hit a 3-pointer and then fed Curry for a dunk and a three-point play as the Bulls went up 67-50 in the third quarter.
But Indiana, as it has done all season, kept battling and chopped the deficit to 70-62 with a quarter left as backup Marcus Haislip had two baskets.
When Tinsley hit two more baskets in the fourth, the Pacers were within four, but Hinrich's jumper and Othella Harrington's driving basket and two free throws ended the run and pushed the lead to 10.
The Bulls led by as many as 13 in the first quarter when Curry made his first five shots to score 11 and Hinrich was 4-for-5 with 10 points.
Chicago had a 40-28 lead after Curry took lob passes from Hinrich and Andres Nocioni and slammed down thunderous dunks.
But Tinsley led a 10-2 Pacers run and Indiana cut the margin to four before trailing by six at the half. Tinsley had 13 of his 18 first-half points in the second quarter.
Game notes
Tinsley's previous high was 30. He was 11-of-31 from the field. ... Curry fouled out with 2:45 left. ... Indiana got little from starting rookie center David Harrison, who had to leave the game with 4:50 left in the first quarter and went to the locker room with back spams. He returned to start the second half but lasted only a minute and a half before being forced to leave. ... Bulls F Antonio Davis left the game with 9:34 left in the third quarter after he was hit in the side of the head as he was driving to the basket. ... Indiana's Anthony Johnson (hamstring) and Austin Croshere (ankle) also sat out.
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Team Stat Comparison
IND | CHI | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | 71 | 85 |
| FGM-FGA | 26-85 (.306) | 30-80 (.375) |
| 3PM-3PA | 1-16 (.063) | 4-16 (.250) |
| FTM-FTA | 18-29 (.621) | 21-32 (.656) |
| Rebounds (Offensive-Total) | 15-47 | 16-62 |
| Assists | 12 | 19 |
| Turnovers | 11 | 18 |
| Steals | 9 | 6 |
| Blocks | 6 | 4 |
| Fast Break Points | 4 | 5 |
| Fouls (Tech/Flagrant) | 26 (1/0) | 28 (0/0) |
| Largest Lead | 0 | 17 |
Top Performers
Game Leaders
IND | CHI | |
|---|---|---|
| Points | J. Tinsley 33 | E. Curry 23 |
| Rebounds | J. Foster 18 | E. Curry 13 |
| Assists | J. Tinsley 4 | C. Duhon 6 |
| Steals | J. Tinsley 2 | L. Deng 3 |
| Blocks | M. Curry 2 | L. Deng 1 |
| Team rosters: Indiana | Chicago | ||

