DeMar DeRozan scores 46, hits clutch jumper to force overtime as Bulls beat Pacers

INDIANAPOLIS -- The Pacers had a two-point lead with two seconds to go in regulation, but Chicago's DeMar DeRozan hit a turnaround jumper to tie it and then helped the Bulls win 132-129 in overtime on Wednesday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

After two wins on the road, the Pacers fell to 37-30 and slipped back to seventh place in the Eastern Conference. The Bulls improved to 32-34 and sit in ninth in the East.

Here are four observations.

DeMar DeRozan wins late-game duel with Myles Turner

Pacers big man Myles Turner followed a 24-point effort on Tuesday with an even better performance and big shot after big shot down the stretch. From the 1:33 mark in the fourth quarter through overtime, Turner hit four 3-pointers and finished with 27 points on 9 of 15 shooting including 5 of 8 from 3-point range.

Both of his 3s in regulation where very similar as he got good looks at the top of the key on pick-and-pops with All-Star point guard Tyrese Haliburton. The second one gave the Pacers a 115-112 lead with 56 seconds to go.

"Ty obviously made some good plays just on our high pick-and-roll pick and pop," Turner said. "I made some good shots, but it just wasn't enough."

It wasn't because DeRozan somehow made bigger shots. He scored just seven points in the fourth quarter, but five of them came in the last minute and changed the game.

After Turner's second 3-pointer, DeRozan answered with a driving layup with 47 seconds to go. After a wild sequence that included an incredible chase down block by Pacers forward Pascal Siakam. The Pacers had a three-point lead with 5 seconds to go after two free throws by forward Aaron Nesmith. Nesmith fouled on purpose to put DeRozan on the line for two shots with 3.8 seconds to go.

However, DeRozan made the first and missed the second on purpose. Pacers forward Obi Toppin got a hand on the rebound but knocked it out of bounds with 2.0 seconds to go. On the ensuing sideline out of bounds, DeRozan caught a pass and posted up on the baseline, then hit a turnaround jumper with 0.3 seconds to go to tie the game and send it into overtime.

DeRozan scored nine points on 3 of 4 shooting in overtime including his only 3-pointer to help put the game away. He finished with 46 points on 15 of 24 shooting.

"DeMar DeRozan, he's DeMar DeRozan," Pacers center Jalen Smith said. "Mid-range killer. Future Hall-of-Famer. You've gotta give props when props are due. Sometimes, you know what they say, great defense, but better offense."

Pacers bench responds on second night of back-to-back

After an impressive win in Oklahoma City on Tuesday night in which four of the Pacers' five starters played at least 30 minutes and an early morning arrival back in Indianapolis, Pacers coach Rick Carlisle knew he was going to need a lot out of his bench on Wednesday in the second night of a back-to-back and he very much got it.

The Pacers were scuffling in the first quarter when Carlisle started making substitutes, first bringing in rookie wing Ben Sheppard for Aaron Nesmith, who played almost 36 minutes on Tuesday after playing 37 on Sunday and taking on tough assignments in both cases. The bench seemed to bring a nearly immediate spark with growing strength as point guard T.J. McConnell, center Jalen Smith and forwards Obi Toppin and Jarace Walker checked in. McConnell scored nine first-half points, Smith and Walker had seven each and Toppin's lone bucket was a put-back dunk as the Pacers' bench outscored Chicago's depleted unit 25-8. McConnell, Sheppard and Walker each had plus-minus figures of +10 or better.

The second half was strong as well as the Pacers' bench outscored the Bulls' bench 47-16 all told. McConnell brought constant energy as usual with 16 points on 5 of 11 shooting, four assists, four rebounds and two steals. Smith scored 15 points and grabbed six rebounds. Walker even scored 10 points in nearly 21 minutes of action. McConnell, Sheppard, Walker and Smith were all at least +12 in the plus-minus. Sheppard was +20 and McConnell was +19.

"I thought our second unit really played at a high level," Pacers coach Rick Carlisle said. "We didn't have a great start. They got us the lead in the second quarter. We were down going into the fourth, they got us the lead there."

Jarace Walker effective in 20 minutes

Walker deserves his own mention simply because Pacers coach Rick Carlisle has been slow to truly integrate him in the rotation even with guard Bennedict Mathurin out for the year and forward Doug McDermott out with a lingering calf strain.

After playing a combined 10 minutes in the two previous games, Walker got almost 21 on Wednesday and made an impact on both ends. He scored 10 points on 3 of 5 shooting, knocking down a pair of 3-pointers on a night when the Pacers struggled mightily to shoot from outside. He also grabbed four rebounds and also volunteered to take on the assignment of guarding DeRozan for part of the game and brought some force to the machup, though DeRozan was fairly dominant against anyone who tried to take him on. Still, it was a performance that could earn Walker more work.

"I thought he played well," Carlisle said. "He played well last night. Tonight there were more minutes. I thought he earned the minutes in the second half and the minutes later in the game and in overtime. He's gonna be a tremendous player for us."

Pacers stay cold from 3

The Pacers have found other ways of scoring in the post Buddy Hield era, but they haven't been nearly as precise from outside the arc in the absence of one of the top 3-point shooters in NBA history.

The Pacers entered play Wednesday night ranked seventh in the league in 3-point shooting at 37.7% for the season, but in the 14 games since his trade to Philadelphia, they were 15th at 36.5%. They have made more than 40% of their 3-pointers just three times in that span.

The issue has been particularly acute in recent games as the Pacers entered play just 27 of 77 from 3-point range in their last three games, 35.1% from 3. Their total makes put them 28th in the league over that span.

And Wednesday wasn't an improvement from outside the arc, as the Pacers finished just 14 of 45 from 3-point range. Just four Pacers, including Turner, hit at least two 3-pointers. They were 6 of 11 from 3 in the fourth quarter and 2 of 5 in overtime for an 8 of 16 finish. Before that, they were 6 of 29 from beyond the arc.

Tyrese Haliburton was 5 of 7 from inside the arc but 1 of 6 from outside. Andrew Nembhard and Ben Sheppard were both 0 of 5 and forward Obi Toppin was 0 of 3.

Chicago 132, Indiana 129

CHICAGO (132)

Caruso 9-13 0-0 23, DeRozan 15-24 15-17 46, Vucevic 6-14 0-0 12, Dosunmu 7-12 5-6 20, White 6-17 2-3 15, Craig 3-5 2-2 10, Phillips 0-2 0-0 0, Terry 0-0 1-2 1, Bitim 1-1 0-0 2, Drummond 1-4 1-2 3. Totals 48-92 26-32 132.

INDIANA (129)

Nesmith 4-12 2-2 13, Siakam 8-12 1-3 17, Turner 9-15 4-6 27, Haliburton 6-13 4-4 17, Nembhard 4-12 0-0 8, Toppin 2-7 0-0 4, Walker 3-5 2-2 10, Smith 5-7 3-4 15, McConnell 5-11 5-5 16, Sheppard 0-5 2-2 2. Totals 46-99 23-28 129.

3-Point Goals—Chicago 10-28 (Caruso 5-6, Craig 2-4, White 1-3, Dosunmu 1-4, DeRozan 1-6, Phillips 0-1, Vucevic 0-4), Indiana 14-45 (Turner 5-8, Nesmith 3-7, Smith 2-4, Walker 2-4, McConnell 1-2, Haliburton 1-6, Siakam 0-1, Toppin 0-3, Nembhard 0-5, Sheppard 0-5). Fouled Out_Chicago None, Indiana 1 (Nesmith). Rebounds_Chicago 48 (Vucevic 12), Indiana 47 (Siakam 9). Assists_Chicago 22 (Caruso 7), Indiana 30 (Haliburton 14). Total Fouls_Chicago 21, Indiana 25. A_17,274 (20,000)

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: DeMar DeRozan scores 46 points as Bulls beat Pacers