NBA: Rose's return inspires Bulls to fourth quarter comeback versus Pacers

Derrick Rose is back.

The 2011 NBA MVP, who sat out all of last season following an ACL injury in the 2011-12 playoffs, played 20 minutes and had a pretty slam, as part of an 82-76 preseason win by his Chicago Bulls over another Eastern Conference powerhouse, the Indiana Pacers, Saturday (Sunday, PHL time) at the Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.

The Pacers were up 64-58 entering the fourth quarter, but their second unit went more than half the period without a field goal, conceding the lead to the Bulls.

Luis Scola broke the home team's drought with a jumper at the 5:52 mark, making it a 70-67 affair in favor of Chicago, but by then, the Bulls' reserves were rolling, tacking on a 10-4 run to go up 80-72 with three minutes left. Indiana then waved the white flag, sending in their third-string to close out the game.

Rose finished with 13 points on 5-of-12 shooting, along with two rebounds, three assists and two steals, though he turned the ball over four times. Taj Gibson led the team with a double-double of 18 points and 12 rebounds, plus three blocked shots, while Luol Deng put together 15 markers and eight boards.

Center Joakim Noah did not play due to a right groin strain.

The Bulls jumped out to a 23-19 first period lead, but a 10-0 blast by the Pacers spanning the initial two periods put them ahead 27-23, 8:16 before halftime. Rose however scored nine of his 13 markers in the second, giving his team the lead at the break, 44-41.



Rose slammed one home after the intermission, off a Paul George turnover, to up his side's lead to 48-42, but the troika of George Hill, Paul George and Roy Hibbert gave the Bulls fits, as they stole the lead and went up by 10, 60-50, 4:52 remaining in the third.

Not to be outdone, Jimmy Butler and Taj Gibson scored their side's next eight points, to reduce their deficit to 64-58, with a quarter left to play, setting up Chicago's strong fourth quarter finish, where they doubled up on their foes 24-12.

Paul George and David West, who saw their contracts extended during the offseason, both scored 14 points to lead the Pacers. George added five boards and two assists, but got whistled for six fouls, while West had four boards, two assists and three steals.

Danny Granger, another player returning from a long injury layover, came off the Pacers' bench for six points on 2-of-10 shooting.

The Bulls out-rebounded the Pacers 56-38, 17-11 on the offensive glass. However, they turned the ball over 23 times, versus just 15 by the home team. - AMD, GMA News