Indiana Pacers pull off miraculous 24-point comeback to take down Chicago Bulls

The Pacers won their final game before the 2023 NBA All-Star break

The Indiana Pacers have had numerous slow starts this season, but few have been as bad as what transpired on Wednesday night. After knotting their game up with the Chicago Bulls at six, the Pacers went on a miserable run of play.

The Pacers scored their next six points over a stretch of five-and-a-half minutes. The Bulls scored 16 in the same span. Chicago closed the first quarter strong, and the Pacers didn't. It was 39-15 Bulls after 12 minutes, which was one of the worst starts of Indiana's season. And they've had some bad ones.

"Lousy first quarter," Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle said after the game. "We were dangerously close in the first quarter to getting booed." 

Slowly but surely, though, the Pacers battled back. At halftime, Chicago led by just 16. In the middle of the third frame, the lead was down to 10. Entering the fourth quarter, the Bulls were only up by three points. Indiana had made it a game again.

In the fourth quarter, the blue and gold finished off the initial comeback effort. Jalen Smith grabbed an offensive rebound and threw down a dunk that tied the game at 90. After an atrocious start, the Pacers reset the game. But they still had work to do, there was still 9:16 left on the clock.

The upcoming stretch of play was a back-and-forth battle. The Pacers took the lead, but then the Bulls snatched it right back. With 5:22 to go, Chicago reached the 100 points mark first, and Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle took a timeout to regroup. He was looking to get his team settled for a final push.

"You've just got to stay the course throughout the game. Go out there, and we've just got to step into the moment," Pacers center Myles Turner said of the team's thinking during that timeout.

The Bulls came out of the break firing, and they were quickly up six at 106-100. But the Pacers immediately responded with two triples of their own and tied the game. Both teams failed to gain control down the stretch.

After trading buckets for a few minutes, the game was close late. But after a Tyrese Haliburton layup gave the Pacers the lead with 30 seconds to go, Indiana finally got the stop it needed. They had the ball, and the lead, late in the game.

As is customary for close NBA games, this one turned into a free throw contest, but the Pacers executed well. They sank all of their free throws late and held on to win 117-113. Per ESPN Stats and Info, that Pacers victory represented the 4th-largest comeback win at the end of the 1st quarter in the shot-clock era.

The Pacers beat the Bulls after trailing by 24 points at the end of the 1st quarter.

That marks the 4th-largest comeback win at the end of the 1st quarter in the shot-clock era (since 1954-55) and the largest since 2008. pic.twitter.com/np5K1P64Xt

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) February 16, 2023

The 24-point comeback could not have come at a better time for the Pacers, who were in a stretch of 16 losses in 18 games. They needed a win in the worst way, and they got a huge one to enter the All-Star break. They improved to 26-34, meaning they have exceeded their win total from last season.

"We've just got to sustain stuff like this," Pacers guard Buddy Hield said after the game. "We've been struggling the last 20 games... hopefully we can go into this break with a fresh start. And come in and everybody [is] locked in."

Hield was special in the win. He finished with a team-high 27 points, and they all came in the second half. He knocked down six threes in the half and completely transformed the game with his shooting. The Bulls defense never recovered.

"My shot felt weird the past two or three games. All you need is one to give you a rhythm," Hield said. He knocked down a three early in the third quarter and never looked back.

Aaron Nesmith finished with 21 points and seven rebounds, and he played excellent defense. He was huge for the Pacers all night and was their only consistent presence wire-to-wire. He's shown a ton of growth this season.

All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton finished with 16 points and eight assists. Starting center Myles Turner had 17 points and nine rebounds, including a massive three to give the Pacers the lead with 79 seconds to go.

Chris Duarte and Bennedict Mathurin each contributed 14 points off the bench. In total, the Pacers finished with six players in double figures. It was a team effort to pull off the comeback win.

Indiana has reached the All-Star break and doesn't play again until Thursday, February 23. They will get some needed rest over the week-long break.

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