Pacers defeat Bulls, extend series

INDIANAPOLIS -- Chicago's fans traveled to Indiana by the thousands, planning to celebrate a first-round playoff sweep.

The Pacers sent the red and black-clad swarm back home disappointed. After fourth-quarter collapses in each of the first three games, Indiana avoided elimination by holding off a furious rally to beat the Bulls, 89-84, in Game 4 of the first-round Eastern Conference series Saturday afternoon.

The Pacers not only faced superstar guard Derrick Rose (15 points, 10 assists) and the pressure of a 3-0 deficit in the series, they dealt with an unexpected roadblock -- a hostile environment on its home floor at Conseco Fieldhouse. The crowd shocked Pacers center Jeff Foster, who has played for the Pacers for his entire 12-year NBA career.

"I have seen every professional game in this arena, and I have never seen anything like that," he said.

The Bulls still lead the series 3-1 and will have a chance to close it out at home Tuesday.

Danny Granger led the Pacers with 24 points, including four free throws in the final 14.1 seconds while being booed. He said the team remembered its earlier failures in the series.

"Maybe there were a few flashbacks," he said. "More importantly, I was just trying to get my team to calm down. We lost our poise those last two or three minutes and I was just trying to get them calmed down a little bit."

Chicago's Carlos Boozer missed a three-pointer that could have tied the game in the closing seconds. The Bulls were looking to set up Luol Deng for the final shot.

"I caught the ball at the elbow and I was supposed to set a backscreen for Luol," Joakim Noah, who led the Bulls with 21 points and 14 rebounds, said. "They played it well, they denied the dribble handoff. Really, it was a mental mistake."