Josh Giddey scored a season-high 29 points to go with 10 rebounds and Coby White added 29 points to lift the host Chicago Bulls to a 121-103 victory against the slumping Indiana Pacers on Monday.
The Bulls led by as many as 24 while securing only their second three-game winning streak of the season — their season-best run. Giddey and White sparked the team’s 50 percent shooting effort from the field, going a combined 22-for-38 in the game while teaming for 25 points during Chicago’s 40-point second quarter.
Giddey finished two points shy of matching his career best before leaving the game with a right ankle injury midway through the fourth quarter.
Indiana, which has lost three in a row, fell into a tie with the Detroit Pistons for fifth place in the Eastern Conference, one game behind the fourth-place Milwaukee Bucks.
Chicago leads the Philadelphia 76ers and Brooklyn Nets by 4 1/2 games for the No. 10 seed in the East and the final spot in the conference play-in tournament.
Myles Turner scored 15 points to top Indiana. Pascal Siakam (13 points), Ben Sheppard (12) and Obi Toppin (10) followed. Johnny Furphy grabbed eight rebounds.
Pacers star Tyrese Haliburton (strained left hip flexor) missed his third straight game.
Bulls center Nikola Vucevic returned from a seven-game absence caused by a right calf strain, and he notched 11 points and 11 rebounds. Teammate Patrick Williams, who had been out since Feb. 12 due to right quad tendinosis, logged two points and three rebounds.
Kevin Huerter added 13 points for Chicago, his seventh straight game in double figures.
The Bulls avoided a four-game season series sweep at the hands of the Pacers, building a 67-48 halftime lead despite committing 11 turnovers before the break.
Giddey led the charge with 21 first-half points on 8-for-10 shooting, while White followed with 16 points, shooting 6-for-10. Turner paced Indiana with 15 points at intermission.
Indiana has endured four losing streaks of at least three games this season. The most recent was a season-worst four-game slide from Nov. 29-Dec. 4.
–Field Level Media
