The Chicago Bulls absolutely dominated the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night, taking them down in a 125-99 win. It was the first time any team had held the Pacers under 100 points all year, as the Bulls locked in on the defensive end of the court. A big part of their success was how they mitigated the effectiveness of Tyrese Haliburton.
The Indiana guard has been having an incredible season despite his recent struggles. After the game, Bulls head coach Billy Donovan showed love to Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle, noting the way he’s been able to utilize the personnel in Indiana.
Donovan even mentioned that the way the Pacers are using Haliburton is how the Bulls wanted to utilize Lonzo Ball. (H/t Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times)
“He has always come across to me as trying to use his personnel to the best of his ability,” Donovan said. “I think Haliburton is such a unique player, and it’s to a certain extent what we tried to do with Lonzo—get guys down the floor, let him throw it up, let him advance it. I think [Carlisle] has always done a great job of, ‘OK, here’s the personnel. How do we utilize it?’ ’’
Haliburton made his second All-Star Game this season, while Ball hasn’t played in an NBA game in two years while dealing with knee issues.
