Billy Donovan shows love to Javonte Green after Bulls win over Pacers

After the Chicago Bulls’ win over the Indiana Pacers, head coach Billy Donovan showed love to Javonte Green.

The Chicago Bulls’ Wednesday night win over the Indiana Pacers was about the defense. The Bulls became the first team to hold the Pacers under 100 points all season, as Tyrese Haliburton has led Indiana to an incredible offensive season. But Chicago locked in and shut them down, earning a blowout win by a score of 125-99.

However, the subplot of the game was the return of Javonte Green. The Bulls inked Green to a 10-day contract after he spent most of this season in the G League with the Santa Cruz Warriors. Now, he’s back with the Bulls after spending two-and-a-half seasons with the team.

He played real minutes for the Bulls against the Pacers, and after the game, head coach Billy Donovan shouted him out. (H/t Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times)

“I’m happy for him because to go through what he went through with the knee injury and having to go to the G League, that was probably pretty humbling, especially for his time here [when] he performed so well,” Donovan said. “He moved into the starting lineup, he was a guy who really complemented the starters. And then for him to go down like he did and almost start over again, for me personally with the journey he has had to go through I’m really happy for him.”

Green played 19:19 against the Pacers, giving the Bulls some solid minutes off the bench.

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Alex Caruso on how Bulls can maintain great defense after Pacers win

After the Chicago Bulls’ win over the Indiana Pacers, Alex Caruso spoke about how his squad can maintain their defensive excellence.

The Chicago Bulls put on a show on Wednesday night against the Indiana Pacers. When you hear the sentence in the context of today’s NBA, you usually envision a scoring Master Class. But the Bulls did the opposite. They completely shut down one of the best offenses in the NBA, holding the Pacers to 99 points.

It was the first time all season that the Pacers failed to crack the 100-point mark, and it was Chicago’s defensive pressure that forced the issue. Last year, the Bulls were a top-five defense in the league, but so far this season, they have been fairly subpar on that side of the ball.

After the win over Indiana, Alex Caruso spoke about what the Bulls need to do to get back to their great defensive ways of last year (H/t Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times)

“Being consistent with our effort and discipline, knowing the assignments, keeping guys off the free-throw line,” Caruso said. “If we can do that consistently we are a good defensive team. We’ve had some slippage in that area, but we know we can do it right.”

With guys like Caruso, newly-re-signed Javonte Green, Ayo Dosunmu, and others leading the way, the Bulls have all the pieces to be a very annoying defense for opponents to deal with.

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Is Bulls win over Pacers a result of the ‘Javonte Green effect’?

Is the “Javonte Green effect” a real thing for the Chicago Bulls?

For the past three seasons, the Chicago Bulls have been one of the most painfully average teams in the NBA. They are stuck in the middle of the pack every season, but despite that, the front office has kept the same core together. DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic have won just one playoff game together.

However, their blowout win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night could be indicative of “the Javonte Green effect.” Since the Bulls traded for Green in 2021, they are 133-133, but with Green in the lineup, they are a slightly better 59-55. When Green is on the court, good things happen.

After the win over Indiana, the Chicago Bulls Central YouTube channel discussed whether or not “the Javonte Green effect” is a real thing.

Green recently rejoined the Bulls on a 10-day contract, and against the Pacers, he played his first real minutes since getting back.

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Breaking down Chicago Bulls’ dominant win over Indiana Pacers

The Chicago Bulls picked up a dominant win over the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday night.

The Chicago Bulls were feeling rough after their tough loss to the Washington Wizards, but they couldn’t have bounced back in a better way on Wednesday night, as they absolutely obliterated the Indiana Pacers by a final score of 125-99. As soon as the first quarter wrapped up, it was all over for the Pacers.

By halftime, the Bulls were up by 21 points, and their largest lead throughout the course of the game was 29 points late in the fourth quarter. Indiana cut the lead down to seven in the third quarter, but Chicago ballooned it back out to double digits (and then some) in the final frame.

The Chicago Bulls Central YouTube channel broke down the Bulls’ dominant win over the Pacers after the game.

DeMar DeRozan’s 27 points led the way for the Bulls, but it was their defense that was most impressive, as they held the Pacers to their first game under 100 points all season.

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Javonte Green on his important minutes in Bulls win over Pacers

After the Chicago Bulls’ win over the Indiana Pacers, Javonte Green spoke about his return to action for the Bulls.

The Chicago Bulls are fighting tooth and nail down the stretch of the season. There isn’t much place for them to move in the Eastern Conference standings, but they are looking to maintain their spot as the ninth seed, fending off the Atlanta Hawks, who are currently slated as the 10th seed.

As the Bulls continue to give their all every game, they are looking for contributions from everyone up and down the roster, including those who have just joined the team. Well, in this case, rejoined. Javonte Green, who just inked a 10-day contract to come back to Chicago, played some important minutes in the Bulls’ Wednesday night win over the Indiana Pacers.

After the game, Green spoke about his role. (H/t Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune)

“I had butterflies just going in,” Green said. “And then I knew I had to just go in there and give them what they came to see.”

In 19:19, Green finished the game with five points, four rebounds, one assist, and one block while shooting 2-of-3 from the field.

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Alex Caruso says Pacers seemed ‘tired’ in Bulls win

Alex Caruso said that the Indiana Pacers seemed tired in the Chicago Bulls’ Wednesday night win.

The Chicago Bulls welcomed the Indiana Pacers to town on Wednesday night in hopes of bouncing back after their Saturday night loss to the Washington Wizards. They did exactly that, earning a massive win over the Pacers. Chicago picked up a 125-99 victory over Indiana, playing some of the best defense on the Pacers of any team all season.

This was the first time that any team had held the Pacers below 100 points all season. Nobody on the Pacers cracked the 20-point mark, while DeMar DeRozan (27 points), Nikola Vucevic (22 points and 12 rebounds), and Andre Drummond (14 points and 11 rebounds) led the way for the Bulls.

After the game, Alex Caruso said that the Pacers seemed tired, but the Bulls also played well. (H/t ESPN)

“They seemed a little tired, but we played well,” Caruso said. “We covered for each other and didn’t have any of those lapses where we give up a slip-out layup or somebody forgot to rotate or get in and battle for the rebound.”

Chicago’s win over the Pacers was a great bounce-back for them.

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Billy Donovan credits Bulls defense for win over Pacers

Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan credited the team’s defense for their Wednesday night win over the Indiana Pacers.

The Chicago Bulls dropped a tough game to the bottom-feeding Washington Wizards on Monday night. It was brutal, it was ugly, and it was one of their worst losses of the season. Luckily for Chicago, they bounced back in a big way on Wednesday night, picking up a massive victory over the Indiana Pacers.

Just one game after a terrible loss, the Bulls blew the doors off of the Pacers, winning by a score of 125-109. DeMar DeRozan led the team in scoring with 27 points, Nikola Vucevic posted a double-double, and Javonte Green gave the Bulls 19:19 in his first minutes since rejoining the Bulls.

After the game, head coach Billy Donovan said that Chicago’s defense was the driving force in the win. (H/t ESPN)

“As a team, I thought we were very connected defensively,” Donovan said. “I really thought the way they helped each other was very important … with (Indiana) being such a hard team to guard offensively, the number of points they score.”

Chicago held Indiana, one of the league’s best offenses, to under 100. It was the first time any team has done that this season.

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Darvin Ham praises Spencer Dinwiddie after big game vs. Pacers

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham has been in veteran guard Spencer Dinwiddie’s corner, even while Dinwiddie struggled after joining the team.

When D’Angelo Russell was ruled out for the Los Angeles Lakers before their game on Sunday against the Indiana Pacers, it was clear they would be at a significant disadvantage.

Russell has averaged 21.8 points and 6.6 assists while shooting 45.1% from 3-point range in his last 30 games. Clearly, at least one player needed to step up.

Spencer Dinwiddie took Russell’s place in the starting lineup on Sunday. If one were asked what an ideal performance from Dinwiddie would look like in such a situation, well, that’s exactly what Dinwiddie provided.

He scored 26 points on 8-of-11 shooting from the field and 8-of-9 from the free-throw line while dishing five assists and blocking two shots. He also played excellent defense on Pacers star guard Tyrese Haliburton and helped hold Haliburton to 12 points on 5-of-13 shooting.

Lakers head coach Darvin Ham talked about Dinwiddie’s big game and praised his mindset after the win over Indiana (at 2:02).

Ham mentioned how Dinwiddie’s teammates have been encouraging the veteran guard to be aggressive. While he struggled in his first few weeks with L.A., he has made 48.1% of his 3-point shots in his last 11 contests.

In addition, he has played some very strong on-the-ball defense. On Friday, he helped harass Philadelphia 76ers All-Star guard Tyrese Maxey into 10-of-26 shooting in a 101-94 Lakers win.

Perhaps the decision to sign Dinwiddie from the buyout market in late February is starting to pay off.

D’Angelo Russell is out for Sunday’s Lakers versus Pacers game

The Lakers will be without one of their biggest weapons for Sunday’s critical game.

The race for the NBA postseason is heating up quickly, and teams across the land are jockeying for optimal positioning. That, of course, includes the Los Angeles Lakers, who find themselves needing wins in bunches after losing many games they should’ve won earlier this season.

They are ninth in the Western Conference at 38-32 and are 1 1/2 games ahead of 10th-place Golden State. The Houston Rockets, who are in 11th place, are also on L.A.’s heels. They’re just three games behind LeBron James’ crew and have an eight-game winning streak.

Los Angeles faces yet another challenging game on Sunday, this time against the high-powered Indiana Pacers. Unfortunately, it will have to go to battle without one of its biggest weapons. D’Angelo Russell will not play due to illness.

This is a big blow to the team’s chances on Sunday. It is 0-5 without Russell this season.

While he has had a few bad games lately, he has, by and large, been on an extended heater. Russell is averaging 21.8 points and 6.6 assists while shooting 45.1% from 3-point range in his last 30 games.

Pacers rookie Oscar Tshiebwe set a franchise record in the G League

Pacers rookie Oscar Tshiebwe has put up some monster numbers in the G League and added another record to his collection this week.

Indiana Pacers rookie Oscar Tshiebwe has put up some monster numbers in the G League this season, and the undrafted center out of Kentucky added another record to his collection.

Tshiebwe recorded 26 points, 26 rebounds, two assists, one steal and one blocked shot on Thursday to lead the Indiana Mad Ants to a win over the Long Island Nets. He went 12-of-20 from the field in 30 minutes as the Mad Ants clinched a playoff berth with the win.

The 24-year-old set the franchise single-season record for rebounds with the performance (470). He registered his fourth game with at least 20 points and 20 rebounds and is one of five players in the G League to reach that mark this season.

Tshiebwe, who is signed to a two-way contract, is averaging 15.8 points, 15.7 rebounds and 1.8 assists on 58.1% shooting from the field in 30 games with the Mad Ants. He ranks second in the G League in total rebounds, offensive rebounds and double-doubles (25).

He has established himself as one of the top players in the G League this season. He has hauled in at least 20 rebounds five times and also set the Mad Ants’ single-game record with 28 on Nov. 22 in a win over the Motor City Cruise.

Tshiebwe established himself as a dominant player in the paint in college, and he has continued to show that ability and more this year with the Mad Ants.

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