INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Aaron Nesmith made a go-ahead reverse layup with 13.9 seconds left and blocked Coby White’s attempt from close range with 2.9 seconds remaining, and the Indiana Pacers rallied from a 14-point fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls 113-110 on Wednesday night.
Pascal Siakam scored 20 points, Andrew Nembhard had 18, Jarace Walker added 16, Bennedict Mathurin had 15 and Nesmith finished with 14 for the NBA-worst Pacers, who improved to 3-0 against Chicago this season.
Indiana has won two of three, having beaten defending champion Oklahoma City in an NBA Finals rematch on Friday night. The Thunder have the league’s best record while the Pacers have plummeted to the bottom of the standings following Tyrese Haliburton’s torn Achilles tendon in Game 7 of the Finals.
Nikola Vucevic scored 25 points and Matas Buzelis had 20 for the Bulls, who lost their second straight to fall one game under .500 (23-24).
Chicago led 101-87 on a layup by Jalen Smith with 7:14 to go. But the Pacers responded with an 18-4 run and Jay Huff’s 3-pointer with 2 minutes left tied it at 105-all.
Vucevic’s 3-pointer with 33.5 seconds left gave the Bulls their last lead at 110-109. Johnny Furphy hit two free throws for the final margin, which was the Pacers’ biggest lead of the game.
Chicago’s Josh Giddey finished with seven assists to surpass 2,000 for his career. The 23-year-old became the 15th player in NBA history to reach that milestone at age 23 or younger.
Up next
Bulls: Host Miami on Thursday night.
Pacers: Host Atlanta on Saturday night.
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