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CHICAGO -- Taj Gibson led five players in double figures with 23 points and the Chicago Bulls brushed off a poor offensive first half to rally for an 89-77 victory over the Indiana Pacers on Monday night. Thomas Vermaelen Arsenal Jersey . Kirk Hinrich had 18 points on 7-for-13 shooting, Mike Dunleavy scored 13, Jimmy Butler 12 and Joakim Noah added 10 points, eight rebounds and eight assists. Gibson, who was 9 for 15 from the field, also had eight rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench. The Bulls (40-31) pulled within two percentage points of Toronto (39-30) for third place in the Eastern Conference. The win also prevented Indiana from clinching the Central Division title on Chicagos home court. The Pacers are looking to win consecutive division crowns for the second time since joining the NBA (1998-99 and 1999-2000). The Pacers, who were led by Paul Georges 21 points, have dropped three straight and six of eight on the road. Theyve lost four of five at the United Center, including both visits this season. The Pacers earned a 91-79 victory over the Bulls on Friday night at Indiana. With the NBAs top two defensive teams on the court, points figured to come at a premium, and that certainly was the case in the first half. Neither team managed to score 20 in either of the first two quarters, and the Pacers took a 34-33 halftime lead when George Hill (12 first-half points) hit a 3-pointer with 1.4 seconds left. The Bulls were 14 of 44 (31.8 per cent) from the field in the first half, including 1 for 10 on 3-pointers. Perhaps the most entertaining portion of the half came when the crowd got on Pacers centre Roy Hibbert for an apparent flop, a hot topic between the teams in recent days. On the play, Hibbert was fouled by Noah as he was beginning to go up for a shot attempt. While there definitely was enough contact to warrant a foul, it appeared to be light. Hibbert, though, dropped to the court flailing as if he had been hit by a flagrant foul. After the replay was shown on the scoreboard, the crowd began to boo. Noah stood off to the side with a big grin on his face. Following Fridays game in Indiana, Gibson accused the Pacers of flopping, and it was still the topic of conversation at the morning shootaround for both teams. "I mean, I havent taken a charge in probably four years," Hibbert said at the shootaround. "Hes entitled to his opinion. Im just going to go out there and play hard." The Bulls finally got into an offensive rhythm in the third quarter, starting the second half with a 16-5 run to take a 49-39 lead. A few minutes later, Indiana had cut the lead to 55-49 and George had the ball on a fast break ahead of the field. Hinrich, though, caught him from behind and looked as if he was going to give an intentional foul. Instead, Hinrich stripped the ball and the Bulls headed in the opposite direction as George complained that he was fouled. The Bulls completed the four-point swing on Gibsons dunk to make it 57-49 with just more than 4 minutes left in the third quarter. The Bulls took a 64-56 lead into the fourth after scoring 31 points in the third. They had balanced scoring in the quarter with Dunleavy and Hinrich each tallying seven points. Carlos Boozer, Butler and Gibson added five apiece. The Bulls were never seriously threatened in the fourth and held on for a relatively comfortable win. NOTES: The Bulls posted a 110-94 victory in Indianas only previous visit to the United Center this season on Nov.16. Indiana won both games at home as the teams split the season series. ... Pacers coach Frank Vogel when asked if Hibbert was the NBA Defensive Player of the Year: "Hands down. Hes the best rim-protector on the best defence in the league. I think thats who the award should go to. Ill be very disappointed if he doesnt get the award this year." Hibberts main competition could be Noah, who received the endorsement of Rockets coach Kevin McHale a couple of weeks ago. . Former Bull C.J. Watson missed the game with a right hamstring strain. Theo Walcott Jersey . With just seconds left in the third and final minute of stoppage time, substitute Haris Seferovic finished off a length-of-the-field move by slamming home a close-range shot. After wild Swiss celebrations, Ecuadors shell-shocked players barely had time to restart before the final whistle was blown. Per Mertesacker Jersey . Greg Chase and Kenton Helgesen also scored for the Hitmen (18-7-4), who extended their win streak to five games, while Brady Brassart chipped in with two assists.MILWAUKEE -- These days, theres no place like this Midwest outpost for NBA teams to end a long road trip on a high note. Blake Griffin dominated the paint with 20 points, Jamal Crawford scored 25 and the Clippers ended their nearly two-week journey away from Los Angeles with a 114-86 win Monday night over the Milwaukee Bucks. Forced to travel more than 11,000 miles through the air during the trip because the Staples Center was occupied by the Grammy Awards, Griffin looked right at home in Milwaukee. After Griffin capped off a decisive 21-2 run in the second quarter with a three-point play, about the only drama left was to count up how many dunks Lob Citys stars would throw down the rest of the night. "When we were flying yesterday, flying here, I remember guys saying they cant wait to get home, stuff like that," Griffin said. "But we knew we still had a game to play, some business to take care of." Los Angeles finished its trip 5-2, a franchise best for their annual Grammy sojourn. Darren Collison added 15 points and seven assists. Ersan Ilyasova had 16 points and eight rebounds for the Bucks, an NBA-worst 8-36. "Against a team like the Clippers, you have to be clicking on all cylinders," coach Larry Drew said. "Theyre playing extremely, extremely well. The low-post game has been really good." The 6-foot-10 Griffin alone was a handful in the second quarter. He backed down Ilyasova in the post, and then followed with a steal and breakaway dunk for a 49-36 lead with 3:32 left after Ilyasova mishandled a pass on the other end. "The defence is what gave us those 114 points. There in the second quarter, middle of the second quarter, we got stops," Griffin said. At one point in the run, Griffin got into a brief shoving match with Khris Middleton (14 points) in a scramble for a loose ball. Each player was assessed a technical fouls. The fray only seemed to rile up the Clippers big man, who finished 8 of 13 from the field. "I dont think (Blake) needs the anger to do it. He just does it," coach Doc Rivers said. "He has been our go-to guy down the stretcch. Mikel Arteta Arsenal Jersey. ." Later, Bucks guard Luke Ridnour lost the ball on a drive into the lane and Los Angeles went on the break. Griffin in transition hit a layup around two defenders and got fouled for the three-point play to cap the big run. By that time it was 57-36 with 1:33 in the second quarter. At least the dedicated fans that stuck around were treated to free hot chocolate on the concourse, a team promotion to fill the arena while arctic cold gripped the region. The Clippers then led by as much as 39, and the lead fell below 20 just once in the second half. Milwaukee did play with more energy two nights after Drew closed the locker room and challenged players lackadaisical style in a 25-point loss to the Hawks. The Bucks just couldnt keep up with the faster and more athletic Clippers. Drew said his team simply missed shots during the decisive run -- including some good looks -- and couldnt answer the opponents momentum plays. "You just have to stay the course. When things happen, sometimes you have plays that are rather deflating," Caron Butler (11 points) said. "Take the ball out, continue to get out in transition, keep the momentum and try to play our style of basketball." Ilyasova was 6 of 22 from the field, and the Bucks shot just 38 per cent on the evening. Things looked promising early for Milwaukee, in desperate need of a spark to make something out of this wayward season. Middletons jumper with 9:58 in the second got the Bucks within 34-32. But as often has been the case this season, a spurt of turnovers and sloppy play spelled big trouble for Milwaukee. Notes: Rivers said guard Chris Paul (separated shoulder) was running and starting to shoot again, but there was otherwise no change in his timetable to return around the All-Star break next month. Asked if he played a role in deciding when Paul was ready, Rivers answered "I never have anything to do with that. Im not a real doctor, as you know. I thought you knew that." ... Bucks starting centre Larry Sanders and veteran guard O.J. Mayo each sat out a second game in a week due to flu-like symptoms. cheap jerseys wholesale jerseys ' ' '
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