The Bulls have plenty of adjustments to make with their new lineup in place and just 25 games remaining in the season. But they have shown signs of being a deep team carrying plenty of offensive firepower.
In four of the last five games, the Bulls have had at least six players reach double-figures. Whether that trend means more wins late in the season remains to be seen. With former Cavaliers Larry Hughes and Drew Gooden playing significant minutes, the Bulls are sharing the ball fairly well, but still getting used to each other on the court.
"If we can get over that hurdle of not falling into the dribble-mania, as I like to call it, and continue to move the ball and just play with each other, I think we can be a really good offensive team," coach Jim Boylan said. "We don't want to bog down and have the ball in one guy's hands and have the shot clock run down."
Boylan pointed out that Wednesday's game was the first of 11 the Bulls have left against the six other teams competing for the bottom three playoff spots in the East.
The Bulls have another such game Friday when Washington visits the United Center. The Bulls haven't seen the Wizards since beating them on the road 95-84 on Dec. 19, the last victory with Scott Skiles as coach.
BULLS 113, PACERS 107: The Bulls had plenty of sloppy moments, but managed to overcome an 11-point third-quarter deficit to beat Indiana 113-107 on Wednesday at Conseco Fieldhouse.
After falling behind 74-63 midway through the third quarter, guard Larry Hughes led the Bulls on a 14-2 run. Hughes hit 10 of 19 shots to score a game-high 29 points.
Tied at 82-82 heading into the fourth quarter, the Bulls went on a 12-3 run and hung on from there. Andres Nocioni scored eight of his 11 points in the first 4:38 of the final quarter.
Forward Drew Gooden also played well, finishing with 15 rebounds and 10 points in his third game with the Bulls. Four of the six Bulls who scored in double-figures against the Pacers started the game on the bench.
The Bulls (23-34) sent Indiana to the foul line 43 times, but made up ground by hitting 9-of-16 shots from three-point range. Indiana, playing without Jermaine O'Neal and Jamaal Tinsley, has lost 13 of its last 16 games.
