INDIANAPOLIS — Indiana suddenly has a shooting touch to go with its tough defense.
The combination was just too much Monday.
David West scored 29 points and All-Star Paul George finished with 21 points, 11 rebounds and 5 assists, leading the Pacers past Chicago 111-101 for a 14th consecutive home victory and into a tie with the Bulls for the Central Division lead.
“We’re just playing together, every game I feel like we’re playing sharper,” West said. “We still need to pick it up defensively, we’re slipping in that regard, but in terms of the offense and how we’re moving the ball and what we’re looking for, it’s just game-by-game improvement.”
Three nights after shooting a season-high 55.7 percent in a relatively easy victory over defending NBA champion Miami, Indiana shot 52.7 percent against a Bulls defense that is ranked No. 2 in the NBA in defensive field goal percentage.The only team ahead of the Bulls is the Pacers, and Indiana never trailed in the second half Monday.
“I’m proud of the way we’re growing on the offensive end,” Pacers Coach Frank Vogel said. “Still a few too many turnovers, but we’ve made a commitment to the extra pass. When the ball is moving, we’re too many weapons to be as poorly efficient as we have been.”
Indiana has topped the 100-point mark four times in the past five games after doing that only seven times in the first 43. It was the Pacers’ highest point total in a nonovertime game all season.
Starting guards Derrick Rose (left knee) and Kirk Hinrich (right elbow) and starting center Joakim Noah (right foot) all sat out again with injuries, and they had another scare late in the first quarter when Marco Belinelli crashed to the floor clutching his right ankle. He returned later and finished with a season-high 24 points. Nate Robinson finished with 19 points, 9 assists and 5 rebounds, and Carlos Boozer had 10 points and five rebounds.
Sports, Pages 24 on 02/05/2013