2011 NBA Playoffs: Pacers Season Comes to End After 116-89 Game 5 Loss to Chicago

The Indiana Pacers put up one hell of a fight in this series, but when it's all said and done, they still head home with a 4-1 series loss to the Eastern Conference's top seeded Chicago Bulls. The Bulls now advance to face the winners of the Orlando Magic/Atlanta Hawks series, which will be decided later this week. The Pacers now face a long Summer of labor uncertainty and "what ifs."

Bob Kravitz of the Indianapolis Star relays some of the Pacers' disappointment.

"That was really disappointing," Granger said. "We gave up 63 percent (shooting) in the first quarter. Too many breakdowns, too many clear lanes, lot of blow-bys, missed assignments. It was really uncharacteristic of the way we played the series."

If the Pacers had played in Game 5 like they had all series long and still lost, they might have been able to go into the Summer a little bit more proud of their effort. But to end it with a clanker like this in the final game of the year really stings. But they did show a lot of good signs in this series, and it speaks to what the future of Pacers basketball could look like. Our Pacers blog Indy Cornrows is pretty excited about the future.

To go off of Tom's article,  this season was full of "what-ifs".  What if Coach Frank Vogel had a full off-season to prepare and get these guys going, what if this group had played as they did in this series all year....Regardless of the ups and downs this team took all of us through, they ended the season with a sense of excitement and optimism looking forward.  After all the criticism Larry Bird receives by us and others at times, he sits in his chair with a solid young coach, solid young core (with multiple "questionable" draft picks), and a ton of money to work with in the off-season.  If he returns, he can play with the money he created, and if not, he has put the this franchise in a great position moving forward. 

The Pacers might have gotten into the playoffs with an under .500 record, bu they performed far better in their first round series than I think anyone was expecting. For a team with as young of a core as they have, and the flexibility (both in free agency and in the draft) to get better, this was a pretty strong showing for the Pacers.

Derrick Rose fueled a 23-8 third quarter run that sealed the Indiana Pacers' fate in an eventual 116-89 loss to the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of the teams first round playoff series.  Indiana had closed within four points before Rose scored seven of the first nine points in the run.

Trailing by 19 points heading into the fourth quarter, Indiana was able to close within 15 early in the final frame before consecutive three pointers from Kyle Korver and Luol Deng essentially sealed the result.

The game was the most lopsided of the five-game set, in which Indiana gained national acclaim for its willingness to go toe-to-toe with the No. 1 seed in the Eastern Conference.  Tuesday night was the first of the series in which Chicago demonstrably outplayed Indiana, who helped its demise with 21 turnovers, leading to 27 Bulls points.

Down 14 in the first quarter, Indiana refused to go quietly in the first half, heading into the half down just eight.  Midway through the third, the Pacers had cut its deficit in half, and with Derrick Rose saddled with four fouls, there was reason for optimism on the Indiana bench.

However, Rose's entry back into the game sparked the series-clinching 23-8 run over the last half of the quarter, leaving the Pacers behind, 84-65, after 36 minutes of play.

A Tyler Hansbrough three-point play brought Indiana within 61-57 with 6:16 to play in the quarter, and with Rose on the bench with four personal fouls, it looked as if the Pacers were poised to make a run.  However, head coach Tom Thibodeau turned to Rose and the MVP favorite delivered, scoring seven straight points to start Chicago on its run.

Rose led Chicago with 25 points, with Deng adding 24.  Six Bulls finished in double figures, as Keith Bogans drilled five threes to finish with 15, while Joakim Noah had 14.  Korver and Gibson had 14 and 10 off the bench, respectively.

Danny Granger had 20 to lead the Pacers, with 14 of those coming in the first half.

Everything was looking up for the Indiana Pacers.  Derrick Rose had four fouls and the Pacers had closed to within 61-57 midway through the third quarter.  However, Rose's entry back into the game sparked the potentially series-clinching 23-8 run over the last half of the quarter, leaving the Pacers behind, 84-65, after 36 minutes of play.

A Tyler Hansbrough three-point play brought Indiana within 61-57 with 6:16 to play in the quarter, and with Rose on the bench with four personal fouls, it looked as if the Pacers were poised to make a run.  However, head coach Tom Thibodeau turned to Rose and the MVP favorite delivered, scoring seven straight points to start Chicago on its run.

Rose drilled consecutive three pointers and after a Taj Gibson dunk, drained his third three in a two and a half minute span to put Chicago up, 75-60.  Two Indiana timeouts during the run could not slow the Bulls, who received back-to-back threes from Keith Bogans to cap the burst.

Rounding out the ignominious end to the quarter was the ejection of Josh McRoberts, who flailed at Joakim Noah with 2.5 ticks to play after Noah boxed out McRoberts in the neck and face.  In retaliation the Carmel H.S.-product was tossed from the game.

At one point seemingly on the verge of getting blown out, the Indiana Pacers instead trail by eight points at the half, 54-46, to the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of the first round of the NBA Playoffs.  The deficit is the first faced by Indiana at the half in the series.

After allowing 36 first quarter points, Indiana buckled down over the next 12 minutes, allowing Chicago to go just 6-for-23 from the floor in the second.  However, the Pacers endured a 12-plus minute field goal drought of their own spanning the first and second quarters, keeping them from closing the gap further.

Still, after shooting 37 percent in the first half, Indiana is fortunate to not be down more.  Getting to the free-throw line has been key for the Pacers, who are 14-of-16 from the charity stripe.  Tyler Hansbrough leads the effort at the line and has nine points in the contest.  

Luol Deng carried the Bulls in the second quarter, going into the half with a game-high 15 points despite tweaking a left wrist injury while taking a charge midway through the quarter.  Danny Granger leads the Pacers with 14 points.

Aside from the offensive struggles, not all is lost for the Pacers.  Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah and Carlos Boozer are all saddled with three fouls after two quarters.

Quick starts had been the hallmark of Indiana's surprising playoff series with the Chicago Bulls, but in Game 5, it was Chicago racing out to the quick start as the Pacers fell behind, 36-25, after the first quarter at the United Center.

Trailing 3-1 in the series, Indiana was down 10 just 2:23 into the contest and never got closer than seven the rest of the quarter.  If not for the output of Danny Granger, who scored 11 points in nine minutes of court time, the deficit would be larger for the Pacers, who could not match the energy of Chicago, who shot 12 for 19 from the floor.

Leading the way for the Bulls was Joakim Noah, who collected 10 points, 3 rebounds and 3 assists while invigorating the United Center crowd.  Derrick Rose, having sprained his ankle in Indiana's Game 4 win, led Chicago with 11 points, knocking down 4-of-6 attempts after struggling throughout the series.

Pacers interim head coach Frank Vogel has done a magnificent job taking over a team that was in complete disarray following the firing of Jim O’Brien back in January. Despite Vogel being a longtime assistant to O’Brien, and even calling the former coach his mentor, Vogel junked everything O’Brien established and installed his own system with the Pacers.

Indiana was ten games under .500 when Vogel took over. He's since coached them to a 20-18 record and a playoff birth.

In the playoffs, one could make a strong argument that the Pacers have pretty substantially outplayed the Bulls. Indiana has dominated Chicago in the first three quarters in each game. However, because Indiana is young, inexperienced, and lacks a true ‘superstar’ player, they haven’t been able to close out three of the four played.

This past Saturday, the Pacers did close a game, winning 89-84 after a ferocious Bulls comeback in the fourth. Tonight is Game Five with the Bulls up 3-1, but that doesn’t seem to phase Vogel. In fact, Vogel has made his opinions about the outcome of this game very vocal to Indianapolis Star reporter Mike Wells:

Vogel: “If we win tonight we’ll win the series.”

Win or lose, one has to admire Vogel’s confidence and his style.

For more on the Bulls vs. Pacers playoff series, check out SB Nation's Indiana Pacers blog, Indy Cornrows. For news and analysis on the Chicago Bulls, check out the Bulls blog Blog-A-Bull and the always excellent SB Nation Chicago.

In the first two games of the best-of-seven series between the No. 1 seed Chicago Bulls and the No. 8 seed Indiana Pacers, MVP-candidate Derrick Rose averaged 32 points per game. However, in the last two games, Rose has averaged just 19 points per.

One of the reasons for Rose's drop in points and his horrific shooting (25% from the field) in Games Three and Four has been the play of rookie shooting guard-small forward Paul George. Pacers coach Frank Vogel made an adjustment after Indiana's narrow Game Two loss, utilizing George and the always defensive-minded Dahntay Jones to guard Rose.

Recently, on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis with Grady and Big Joe, Paul George discussed the challenge of guarding someone like Rose:

What it has been like to guard Derrick Rose during this series:

"Derrick Rose is a challenge. He’s a great player, a terrific player. It’s just the competitiveness in me. I knew that in order for this team to get past Chicago you have to slow down a guy like Derrick Rose. I knew coming in that I wasn’t going to be able to stop him, but if I could contain him and really make it tough for him, I think that’s a win for me. That’s been the case. We really want him to shoot jumpshots and not get to the rim."

How much fun has it been for him to see his role increase in that capacity?:

"It’s been a journey. It’s been a special season for me as well as this team. Coming from not playing at all to now playing against the league’s MVP, it’s fun basketball. This is what everyone in my position dreams of."

Interview transcript provided by Sports Radio Interviews.

For more on the Bulls vs. Pacers playoff series, check out SB Nation's Indiana Pacers blog, Indy Cornrows. For news and analysis on the Chicago Bulls, check out the Bulls blog Blog-A-Bull and the always excellent SB Nation Chicago.