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What we learned from the Chicago Bulls' gutsy overtime win over the Indiana Pacers

The win came at a cost for the Bulls.

Stephen Beslic

© Trevor Ruszkowski-USA TODAY Sports
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The Chicago Bulls are becoming the kings of the clutch as they pulled off a 132-129 win over the Indiana Pacers. In what has become a trend this season, the Bulls went to overtime again, but they came out on top this time. Here are two takeaways from the thrilling match.

Kings of the clutch

The Bulls played in their 38th clutch game this season, tying them with the Golden State Warriors and the Atlanta Hawks. 

A clutch game is defined as a game within five points in the last five minutes, and the Bulls have been involved in plenty of those this season, playing the most clutch minutes of any team. Most importantly, Chicago has won the most games in said situations, tallying 23 clutch victories.

Lack of bench support

The Bulls’ lack of depth is glaring as their bench was outscored by the Pacers, 47-16, marking the 15th straight game that this happened. The last time Chicago won the bench scoring battle was on February 6 against the Minnesota Timberwolves. Injuries have severely depleted the Bulls, with Alex Caruso and Ayo Dosunmu—normally reserves if the Bulls have a complete roster—now playing significant minutes as starters.

The Bulls’ top bench scorer was Torrey Craig, who had 10 points. The other reserves who scored were Andre Drummond (3), Onuralp Bitim (2), and Dalen Terry (1).

Billy Donovan on DeMar DeRozan's incredible corner jumper that forced overtime vs. the Indiana Pacers

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Stephen Beslic
STEPHEN BESLIC

Stephen Beslic is a writer on Sports Illustrated's FanNation Network. Stephen played basketball from the age of 10 and graduated from Faculty of Economic and Business in Zagreb, Croatia, majoring in Marketing.

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