The Bulls End the Pacers' Undefeated Season

What a beautiful win for the Bulls! The Bulls played their best basketball of the season, dominating the Indiana Pacers in every facet of the game. The 110-94 final score really doesn't explain what a blowout this game was truly was.

Defensive Dominance

You didn't have to watch the game very closely to see how defensively dominant the Bulls were, particularly during the first three quarters of the game. Kirk Hinrich, Derrick Rose, Luol Deng -- you name a player, and he played fantastic defense last night. I was particularly impressed to see Rose lockdown George Hill and Deng hold Paul George to 12 points on 3-14 shooting from the floor.

The Bulls looked like a team that was pissed off after losing to the Pacers earlier this year, and I did not see any of the sloppy rotations or lack of hustle that has been evident for most of the season.  Pacers not named Chris Copeland connected on just 1-12 threes during the the game. The Pacers' bench contributed little outside of some garbage time buckets.

D. Rose Goes Deep

A rare drive last night

Derrick Rose electrified the United Center last night, burying 6-11 three pointers en route to 20 points. Rose laughed any time the Pacers played the drive, and if not for a moving screen by Taj Gibson, Rose would have hit 7-12 attempts. He clearly has his legs back, and he finally got fantastic arc on his shots.

Though Rose's three point shooting was amazing, I'm worried he may be afraid to drive the lane. Rose only attempted 5 FGs, and he looked extremely scared to drive the ball into the lane. Rose is a dynamic offensive weapon, and though I would love if he becomes a 42% three point shooter, I do not want to see him abandon driving. Other offensive players (I'm look at you Dunleavy) can't create their own shots, thus the Rose drive 'n kick is essential to long-term success.

Bench Mob

The Bulls' core bench players played orgasmically. I haven't seen Hinrich so tenacious on both sides of the ball since his first run with the Bulls, and I'm unbelievably impressed with how confident he looked on offense.

Taj Gibson was similarly fantastic, extending plays with 4 offensive boards and chipping in for 15 points. Mike Dunleavy nailed both of his three point attempts and poured in 10 points in just 22 minutes. If the top 8 of the rotation can play like this for the rest of the season, then Bulls fans are in for a splendid regular season performance.

This was undoubtedly the most impressive game of the season. The Bulls played like hungry champions, and I haven't seen the team look this since the 2011-12 season. For real. I'm feeling extremely pumped.