Heartbreaker in the Windy City

In the middle of the third quarter the United Center started to cheer..."Let's Go Bulls" and I had an awful flash back to last season.  My best buddy from college and I were in the formerly named Conseco Fieldhouse cheering on the Pacers in a sea of red…hoping to avoid playoff elimination.  The 10,000 Bull fans that traveled down 65 to Indy packed the Fieldhouse and chanted back and forth with Pacer fans all night.  In the end we had the last laugh (that night) as the Pacers went on to beat the Bulls in game 4 of the playoff series – avoiding the sweep.  Tonight the Pacers were not so lucky. 

The night started out promising as George Hill and Paul George both started the game strong and led the Pacers to a one point halftime lead.  The Pacers held Rose to 1 of 9 shooting and 2 points in the first half using double teams and controlling the pace.  My best friend and I spent much of the first half taunting the bulls – yelling multiple insults at the Bulls players through the T.V. and rooting on the blue and gold.   We were both feeling pretty good as we noticed that George Hill was trending on Twitter at halftime and we were excited to start the second half.

Then...the night fell apart, just like the Pacers.  Deng of the Bulls lead the attack hitting two big three pointers and then Rose took over – giving the Bulls a big 92 to 72 victory.  The storyline tonight for the Pacers was the strong play of the George’s.  Both Paul George and George Hill had strong games but it wasn’t enough to overcome the Bulls.  Roy Hibbert struggled throughout the night and the Pacers lost control of the game in the third period when the Bulls quickened the tempo.  

In the end this is only one game and the Pacers have still won 6 out of their last 7 games.  The Pacers also need to put this lost behind them fast because the upcoming games are just as difficult.  In the end the series with the Bulls is tied at a game apiece.  The Pacers have the upper hand as the Bulls have to travel to Indy for the last game of the season to determine the series winner.  This year Pacer fans need to show up and keep the Bulls fans out of Banker’s Life.