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(Wednesday, April 25th) Final Score: Chicago 92, Indiana 87 Indianapolis, IN (Sports Network) - Despite snaring the East's top seed for a second straight season Tuesday, the Chicago Bulls aren't shutting things down just yet. Carlos Boozer had 16 points and seven rebounds, while Joakim Noah added 14 points and 14 boards as the Bulls downed the Indiana Pacers, 92-87, on Wednesday in their quest for the NBA's best record. They are tied with San Antonio, which beat Phoenix on Wednesday. Chicago closes its regular season Thursday against Cleveland, while the Spurs play at Golden State. Kyle Korver nailed four three-pointers en route to 20 points for the Bulls, who have won six of their last eight games. Derrick Rose netted 10 points on just 3-of-11 shooting to go with seven assists. "I thought we came out with a great start," Korver said. "We set the tone early with a high energy level." Lance Stephenson scored a career-high 22 points for Indiana (42-24), which has lost two of three to close its regular season on the heels of a seven-game winning streak. The Pacers have already locked up the third seed in the East and will face Orlando, which clinched the sixth seed with a win over Charlotte on Wednesday, in the first round of the NBA Playoffs. "Our starters got some good reps tonight and so did our bench. We accomplished the goal of getting a good look at Lance Stephenson. He had a heck of a basketball game," Indiana head coach Frank Vogel said. Indiana, which trailed by double digits for a majority of the second half, cut the deficit to 78-71 following Stephenson's layup midway through the fourth quarter. But Korver drained two backbreaking triples down the stretch to secure the win for Chicago. He capped a quick 7-2 spurt with a right-wing triple to make it 85-73 with 4:06 remaining, and after Stephenson's jumper cut the margin to single digits, Korver rattled home another right-wing trey for a 90-78 lead with 2:07 to play. Earlier, the Bulls used an 8-0 run to establish a 23-14 lead late in the opening frame before taking a 32-24 advantage into the second stanza. Boozer had 10 points and four rebounds in the period. Indiana shot just 23.8 percent in the second quarter and trailed 49-36 at halftime. Chicago led 67-59 after three quarters of play. Game Notes The Bulls outrebounded the Pacers, 44-34...Indiana was 6-of-14 from beyond the arc...Chicago shot 46.9 percent from the field...David West finished with 13 points and five rebounds for Indiana. 04/25 22:59:16 ET Powered by The Sports Network. |