The Chicago Bulls at one point led by 14 points, but a massive fourth quarter from the Pacers led to a shocking ending in Indianapolis.
The Chicago Bulls came into Wednesday night looking to pick up their first win of the season against the Indiana Pacers, and they head into Thursday morning still looking for their first win against the Pacers after a shocking ending in Indianapolis. Chicago came out on fire against the Pacers, specifically second-year forward Matas Buzelis.
Buzelis opened the game with the highest-scoring 1st quarter of his career, racking up 13 points--including 3-3 from the 3-point line--and proving to be a matchup nightmare for the Pacers to start. He would finish with 15 first-half points, and 20 points overall on the evening. While there were certainly bigger factors leading to the Bulls eventual loss, a lack of involvement from Buzelis offensively in the second half certainly didn't help things.
Chicago dominated the Pacers in the paint throughout the game, finishing with 52-40 advantage in points in the paint. A big part of Chicago's +12 advantage in the paint was blazing fast wing Ayo Dosunmu, who finished the night with 19 points off of the bench despite finishing 0-3 from the 3-point line.
Dosunmu is the team's most accurate 3-point shooter, but he didn't let his struggles from deep stop him from attacking. Dosunmu found seams in the Indiana defense early and often, and was relentless in attacking that weak spot, something evident by his shot chart for the night.
Ayo Dosunmu's shot chart from the Bulls 113-110 loss to the Indiana Pacers on January 28th, 2026.The Bulls went into the fourth quarter with a 85-76 lead, and things quickly went south from there. The Pacers won the fourth quarter 37-25, with their quartet of players with significant NBA Finals experience from last season leading the way. Benedict Mathurin, Aaron Nesmith, Pascal Siakam, and Andrew Nembhard combined to shoot 61.5% from the field (8-13), powering a Pacers offensive attack that started to attack with more focus down the stretch.
Chicago's defense simply couldn't keep up in the fourth, with a few key breakdowns on the perimeter leading to open three-pointers, specifically Buzelis getting caught on a screen to give up an open 3-pointer to Nesmith that cut the Bulls lead to three with just over two minutes left. The defensive breakdowns and mental lapses on Chicago's end tanked what was otherwise an excellent effort on both sides of the ball through three quarters.
The Bulls won't have a lot of time to wallow in defeat, as the NBA never stops and a trio of matchups with longtime Play-In rival Miami Heat await them.