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Rose, Bulls aim to finish off Pacers

Apr 26, 2011 - 2:42 PM (Sports Network) - The top-seeded Chicago Bulls will take another stab at eliminating Indiana when the teams square off in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals on Tuesday at the United Center.

The Pacers staved off elimination on Saturday when Danny Granger finished with 24 points and 10 rebounds, helping Indiana hold off a furious rally with an 89-84 victory over Chicago at Conseco Fieldhouse.

Roy Hibbert added 16 points and 10 boards for Indiana, which still faces a 3-1 series deficit heading into tonight's contest in the Windy City. But the Pacers dominated for almost all of Saturday's contest to prevent the Bulls from sweeping the Eastern Conference quarterfinal set.

Indiana led by as many as 18 and was still up by double digits with two minutes left, but top-seeded Chicago staged a comeback and nearly pulled it off, getting within a point with 15.3 seconds left.

Carlos Boozer missed a potential tying three-pointer with only a few seconds remaining, and Granger made two free throws to secure the outcome in another close game. Every contest in this series has been decided by six points or fewer.

"We have had three games that we've been in there for the whole game and didn't get it closed out," Hibbert said. "Tonight we arrived."

Boozer ended with 15 points and 13 rebounds for the Bulls, while Joakim Noah led them with 21 points and 14 boards.

MVP frontrunner Derrick Rose suffered a sprained left ankle late in the first quarter, and returned to the game but shot just 6-of-22 and totaled 15 points and 10 assists. Rose also took only four free throws after averaging 16.3 attempts in the first three games, but said the injury didn't affect his play.

"I was just missing shots," Rose said. "I thought I got a lot of good looks, but my shot was just short."

The injury occurred on a drive to the hoop with about a minute left in the opening period. He planted his left foot in preparation for a layup, but it rolled outward. Rose felt the injury immediately, and started hopping around on his right foot before exiting the game and leaving for the locker room.

Tests, including an MRI exam, were negative.

Rose has been the dominant force for the Bulls in opening up the 3-1 series lead, as he is averaging 28.3 points with 6.0 assists and 5.3 rebounds in the four games. He sat out Monday's practice as a precaution and plans to take a painkilling injection but will play tonight.

"It's getting better every day," Rose said Monday. "I've been getting treatment on it the last couple of days. Hopefully, it'll be ready. It's not broken so I'm definitely playing."

The Bulls also took three of four from the Pacers in the regular season.

The only other time these rivals have met in the playoffs previously was in the Eastern Conference finals back in 1997-98, when the Bulls topped the Pacers 4-3, moving on to win their final NBA Championship in the Jordan era.

Game 6, if necessary, will be Thursday back in Indianapolis.