2011 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs
First Round – Game 3
Chicago Bulls at Indiana Pacers, Conseco Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, IN
Thursday, April 21, 2011, 7:00 pm Eastern, TV: NBATV
Opening Line: Bulls -4
Current Line: Bulls -4.5
Opening Total: 189
Current Total: 189
Money Line: Bulls -200 / Pacers +170
The top-seeded Chicago Bulls (64-20) let the eighth-seeded Indiana Pacers (37-47) hang around in the first two games of their Eastern Conference first-round playoff series at the United Center but will look to take a commanding 3-0 lead when they hit the road for Game 3 on Thursday. The Bulls (-4.5) have won 11 straight games dating back to the regular season along with 23 of 25, with one of those losses taking place at Conseco Fieldhouse on March 18.
The Pacers won that last meeting at home 115-108 in overtime despite Chicago point guard Derrick Rose tying a career high with 42 points. Like Game 1 of this series, Rose did most of his damage from the free-throw line, hitting 18 of 21 attempts before fouling out in the extra session. He had made all three of his free throws after getting fouled on a 3-pointer with one second remaining in regulation to force OT.
The first two games of this series have been comparable close calls won by the home team with Rose carrying the offensive load. He has scored 75 points so far while averaging seven rebounds and six assists. Indiana knows Chicago’s offense goes through him and will try to force others to step up whether starting point guard Darren Collison can play or not.
Collison sprained his ankle at the end of the first half in Game 2 and sat out the rest of the 96-90 loss on Monday. He hopes to play, but Pacers head coach Frank Vogel is not counting on it. Backup A.J. Price (13 points in Game 2) and T.J. Ford (five) are ready to log major minutes if needed and would be responsible for trying to slow down Rose.
Vogel joked about trying to keep Bulls fans out of Conseco so his team can have some sort of homecourt advantage, and that figures to be an issue considering Chicago is a short drive away. The Pacers ranked last in attendance during the regular season but have won five of six there.
“We need to fill the building with blue and gold,” Vogel said. “We’re going to have metal detectors out there to scan the metal people are bringing in the building, but people who are wearing red … they’re not going to get through the metal detectors, either.”
Critics have been tough on Chicago following the first two games, and rightfully so. The team failed to cover a double-digit spread in both games and has gone a disappointing 3-7 vs. the line in its past 10. The UNDER is also 6-2 in the last eight games overall for the Bulls.
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