CHICAGO (670 The Score) – Even by the sorry Bulls' standards, what transpired Sunday afternoon was something else.
Chicago shot 60.8% from the field yet lost 125-122 to Indiana at the United Center, where Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton drilled a game-winning 30-foot 3-pointer with 2.7 seconds left. Despite posting their second-best field-goal percentage of the season, the Bulls found a way to lose in large part because they allowed 13 offensive rebounds that turned into 20 second-chance points for the Pacers. Afterward, it left the Bulls feeling about how you'd expect.
"It's upsetting," said Bulls guard Zach LaVine, who scored a game-high 42 points. "Obviously, we've got to do better defensively, get stops and find a way to win that game. I think we're both competing out there for the same thing obviously standings-wise. A tough way to go out."
The result Sunday left the Bulls and Pacers tied for 11th place in the East, two games behind the 10th-place Wizards for the final play-in spot. Indiana clinched the tiebreaker over Chicago by virtue of winning the season series 3-1, which could eventually be a complicating factor for the Bulls.
Of course, the way the Bulls are headed, the tiebreakers might not matter. The Bulls are once again a season-high seven games under .500, and whatever small boost the addition of veteran guard Patrick Beverley provided when Chicago signed him at the All-Star break appears to be just that – not enough help as a variety of problems continue to plague the team.
"I don't think that we're like, we're not even in the ballpark and it's every night we're getting run out of the building and how can you sit there and say you can compete?" Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. "We've been in all these games, and I think that we've just got to find a way to kind of get that one game and get a spark and see if we can't get going."
Asked if he was surprised by the situation the Bulls find themselves in – with the context being that the front office set winning at least a playoff series as the expectation back in training camp – forward DeMar DeRozan responded, "I'm definitely surprised." DeRozan understands the reality. It will now be an uphill battle just for the Bulls to earn a play-in berth.
Prior to the Bulls' loss, Basketball Reference had Chicago's chances of missing the play-in tournament entirely at 52%, a figure that will surely rise when recalculated after Sunday's games conclude. Despite the bleak outlook, DeRozan will still hold out hope until it's gone.
"As long as you've got time, you've got a chance," DeRozan said. "That's where we're at. Obviously, it's beyond frustrating that we lost again, the way we lost. I felt like we fought and put ourselves in a position to be able to pull that game out. Like I said before, it's overly frustrating to lose, especially a must-win, when we're saying it's a must-win. We're making our own bed. We can't complain about it. We can't bitch about it. We got to figure out a way with these last whatever many games to dig ourselves out of this hole and put ourselves in a position to be able to make something out of it. As long as we've got a chance, we've got to take advantage of that opportunity by means necessary."
Cody Westerlund is a sports editor for 670TheScore.com and covers the Bulls. Follow him on Twitter @CodyWesterlund.
Listen live to 670 The Score via:
Audacy App | Online Stream | Smart Speaker
