Bulls Pull Away For Win, NBA Roundup

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Published on March 27 2017 6:16 am
Last Updated on March 27 2017 6:16 am

By ESPN

Jimmy Butler rarely passed up opportunities to share the ball. Nikola Mirotic took advantage of his open shots.

Inspired by unselfish play, the Chicago Bulls pulled away in the second half for a 109-94 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks on Sunday to keep pace in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

Mirotic tied a season high with 28 points, while Butler had 20 points and a career-high 14 assists. It was the third straight game with double-digit assists for Butler, who is also Chicago's leading scorer (23.6 points).

"My mantra is always to pass the ball to the open guy whether it's late game, early game," Butler said.

Chicago has won two of three games, with Butler reaching double-digit assists and Mirotic scoring 28 in each victory. Against Milwaukee, Mirotic was the beneficiary of open looks with Butler and Rajon Rondo (nine assists) drawing defenders on drives into the lane.

"I just don't think we trusted our defense tonight like we should have," Milwaukee forward Khris Middleton said. Butler and Rondo "did a great job of collapsing our defense and finding guys."

It's an ideal formula for the Bulls to stay in the playoff picture with eight games left in the regular season.

Chicago was tied with Detroit coming into the day, 1 1/2 games behind Miami for the final playoff spot. The Bulls also finished the season series against Milwaukee at 1/3 this season, avoiding a sweep to their Central Division rival.

Coach Fred Hoiberg hopes his team can build off this win with games coming up against defending champion Cleveland and another playoff hopeful, Atlanta. The Bulls also outrebounded Milwaukee 49-34.

"We've got to understand what makes us successful," Hoiberg said. "When we're committed to moving the ball like we did today ... trying to put them in spots on the floor where they're maybe not as successful and when we rebound."

Giannis Antetokounmpo had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks.

Pacers 107, 76ers 94

Myles Turner celebrated his 21st birthday this weekend, then delivered a performance that made it easy to forget how young he is.

Turner had 17 points and tied a career high with 16 rebounds, Paul George scored 21 points, and the Indiana Pacers beat the Philadelphia 76ers 107-94 on Sunday night.

Indiana (37-36) moved into a tie for fifth place in the Eastern Conference with Atlanta and Milwaukee. The Pacers will play both the Bucks and the Hawks during their final nine games of the regular season.

The Pacers are 8-4 when Turner records a double-double.

"That's the Myles we need," George said. "He's got to rebound the ball. He had that mindset and he had that motive to go get every ball tonight."

Jeff Teague added 16 points for the Pacers, who used a 30-point third quarter to turn a six-point halftime lead into a 12-point advantage and snapped a two-game skid.

Al Jefferson finished with 14 points before leaving in the fourth quarter with a sprained ankle. Monta Ellis, Aaron Brooks and CJ Miles all had 10 for Indiana.

Sergio Rodriguez scored 16 for the Sixers, while Richaun Holmes finished with 11 points and 11 rebounds. Philadelphia took 41 3-pointers, making 14.

"They show why they're tied for fifth in the East and about to go play on and play in a serious time in the season. I think defensively they were really good. I think that's where we felt them the most," Sixers coach Brett Brown said.

Turner came in third in the league with 2.1 blocked shots per game and had two Sunday. The second-year forward had 20 points and four blocks Friday on his birthday, but grabbed just four rebounds in a 125-117 loss to Denver and was disappointed with his play. That might have motivated him Sunday, Pacers coach Nate McMillan said.

"I think Myles was a little upset with how we played in last game. He made an effort to go after (rebounds) tonight," McMillan said. "The attack was what we wanted."

The Pacers led by as many as 11 in the first half before the Sixers made a push late to close the deficit to six points by halftime.

George then scored nine points in the third quarter and Teague had eight as the Pacers led by as much as 19 in the period. They extended the advantage to 25 in the fourth.


Sunday, March 26 Scoreboard

Charlotte 120, Phoenix 106

Brooklyn 107,  Atlanta 92

Sacramento 98, Los Angeles Clippers 97

Chicago 109, Milwaukee 94

Houston 137, Oklahoma City 125

Indiana 107, Philadelphia 94

Boston 112, Miami 108

Golden State 106, Memphis 94

New Orleans 115, Denver 90

Portland 97, Los Angeles Lakers 81


Monday, March 27 Schedule (All Times Central)

Orlando at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Detroit at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Cleveland at San Antonio, 7 p.m.

Oklahoma City at Dallas, 7:30 p.m.

Memphis at Sacramento, 9:30 p.m.

New Orleans at Utah, 9:30 p.m.