The Chicago Bulls (37 - 37) defeated the Indiana Pacers (39 - 35) on Tuesday, 98 - 96. Jimmy Butler has endured an injury - riddled second half of the season, and the ailments have admittedly affected his play. The stellar two - guard has experienced a recent general downturn in scoring, failing to hit the 20 - point mark in seven straight contests. However, with Chicago's playoff hopes and the game potentially slipping away Tuesday, it was Butler that came through in the clutch. He drained a 10 - foot jump shoot with three seconds remaining to break a 96 - 96 deadlock. The Bulls then survived a C.J. Miles 29 - foot pullup jump shot at the buzzer that could n't find its target, sealing the victory. Chicago was paced by Nikola Mirotic's outstanding effort off the bench, which consisted of 28 points, 10 rebounds, two assists and a steal over 37 minutes. His total included seven made three - pointers, and his extended playing time came as a result of a rib contusion suffered by Taj Gibson after only 10 minutes on the court. Butler followed with 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals, which led the starters. Pau Gasol was next with 10 points, 11 rebounds, seven assists and four blocks. No other Bulls player managed to get into double - digit scoring, with Derrick Rose (eight points, four assists and a rebound) notably underperforming. The Bulls remain in fourth place in the Eastern Conference's Central Division, and are currently two games back of the eighth - seeded Detroit Pistons. They head to Houston to take on the Rockets on Thursday. Indiana was paced by Paul George, who took advantage of the Bulls' vulnerable defense versus small forwards to tally 20 points, nine rebounds, five assists, four steals and a block. Ian Mahinmi was right behind him with a third straight strong performance, compiling 18 points, seven rebounds, an assist and two blocks. Lavoy Allen paced the Pacers' reserves with a modest line of nine points and six rebounds. The Pacers are currently in second place in the Eastern Conference's Central Division, and slotted in the seventh seed in the conference as well. They're home again against the Magic on Thursday.
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