NBA Playoffs 2011: Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers Game 2 by the Numbers
Some people thought that after the way the Indiana Pacers came so close in Game 1, they would be crushed in Game 2, and the Bulls would run away with it.
The ubiquitous and scrappy group hung around all night and seemed to contest every pass, shot and dribble. Once again, though it wasn't quite enough as the Chicago Bulls held them off.
Here are the important numbers from the game to show how the Pacers hung around and how the Bulls won.
Indiana Pacers, 22
1 of 7
The Indiana Pacers forced 22 turnovers and scored 26 points off turnovers compared to the 15 turnovers the Bulls forced and the 14 points they scored.
Their ubiquitous hands, particularly those of Paul George were constantly getting in passing lanes, slapping at balls and forcing turnovers. In all, George had 18 deflections, four blocks and three steals.
The Bulls helped the cause too, on several occasions just passing the ball straight into the happy and waiting hands of various Pacers more than willing to accept the gifts.
Chicago Bulls, 20
2 of 7
The Chicago Bulls were able to offset the colossal turnover number by an equally colossal offensive rebounding advantage. Carlos Boozer had 16 rebounds total, nine of them on the offensive glass. Joakim Noah grabbed 10 total boards, four of them on his own team's shots.
With the Bulls 22 turnovers and their .336 field goal percentage, it's safe to say that there's no way the Bulls wouldn't have won without such a large advantage on the boards.
Indiana Pacers, 2
3 of 7
There's been a lot made of how the Bulls don't have any help besides Derrick Rose, including some by Danny Grange. The number of players form the Pacers who had double digits was two—Granger had 19 and AJ Price had 13.
The Pacers were unable to get Tyler Hansbrough going like he did the last game.
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Chicago Bulls, 3
4 of 7
It's ironic that Luol Deng's number is nine or three squared. It's also three plus three plus three.
He had two bad threes. That's the number of field goals he made on 13 attempts. It's also the number of turnovers he had.
On the plus side though, he also was the first player for the Bulls to hit a three tonight. After he hit, the rest of the team seemed to start hitting on them. Rose got two. Keith Bogans finally got one. Then Kyle Korver hit another big one with just over a minute left in the game.
For the Bulls to go deep in the playoffs, they need more of the good Deng and less of the bad Deng.
Chicago Bulls, 94.0
5 of 7
When a team takes a 2-0 lead in a seven-game series in the NBA playoffs, they win 94.0 percent of the time. It looks like there's not much chance the Pacers are going to come back and take the whole thing, but somehow, I don't think they care what the percentages say.
Indiana Pacers, 65
6 of 7
Just before the buzzer sounded, TJ Ford let fly a beautiful 65-foot three-point shot.
The shot put the Pacers back even with the Bulls after Chicago had taken their largest lead of the series just moments earlier. It was Ford's only three-pointer on the night.
\Gotta make them count though right?
Chicago Bulls, 1
7 of 7
Derrick Rose's 36 points, eight rebounds and six assists followed up his 39 points, six rebounds and six assists from Game 1. Doing that made him at least the first player in the current playoff format to collect 35 points, six rebounds and six assists in consecutive playoff games. So he got to match his jersey number too.
Going back to last season, he also became the fourth player to have 30 points and six assists in three consecutive playoff games. The other three are Kobe Bryant, LeBron James and Dwyane Wade.
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