Wow, what a game last night!  After watching the final quarter of the Miami HEAT v. Philadelphia 76ers game, my mind couldn't help but wonder about a similar game 2 for the Indiana Pacers.  As we all know, these young guys have a tendancy for a let down after big games.  This was yet another big game and these guys showed up huge again!  Darren Collison goes down in the 2nd, creating a need for T.J. Ford...yep, same guy who was put on the trading block and granted permission to not travel with the team for a good portion of the second half of the season.  I have to commend Ford for handling everything so professionally...he was given every opportunity to pout and detach from this team, but he shows up big while Collison was out last night.

I personally can't wait until Thursday's game.  I think with the combination of the Pacers play and with the home crowd supporting them they could pull out a couple this week!  Throughout last night's game, I kept thinking to myself, Paul George is playing great defense on Derrick Rose.  However, Rose still ends up with a huge game and was easily the difference once again.  

After the jump, check out the links of the day and more thoughts on last night's game...

I am not sure if many of you listened to Sir Charles during half time of the game, but he had some high praise for this young Pacers team!  It's neat hearing "experts" express the same optimism for the future of the Pacers that this crowd shares here at IC.  We have the potential to be a little biased, as we are all Pacers fans..so, hearing Barkely's praise and others is very refreshing.

If you are able, check out the Playoff Rally at Kroger's on 86th and Township today (see below for details).  As Coach Frank Vogel would say, "Jump on the bandwagon, it's gonna be a fun ride!"...he was right, this has been a ton of fun so far...

• Box Score
• PACERS: Game Rewind - Bulls 96, Pacers 90
• PACERS: Playoff Rally at Kroger
• Another close one for the Pacers | Pacers Insider blog | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
• Pacers fall into 2-game hole vs. Bulls, worry about Collison | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
• Kravitz: Pacers do everything right but win | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com
• What Happened On That Pacers' Double Team? - NBA Playbook
• Indiana Pacers: Pacers try to limit Derrick Rose's touches - chicagotribune.com
• Chicago Bulls beat Indiana Pacers 96-90 for 2-0 series lead - chicagotribune.com Game recap from Chicago Tribune...
• 2011 NBA playoffs: Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls follow a familiar formula - ESPN Chicago Pacers getting some nice praise here....
• Derrick Rose pours in 36 as Pacers fall short again in Game 2 - NBA - SI.com Rookie Paul George gets some credit for his solid defense against Rose
• Miller: No interest in a coaching job | The Indianapolis Star | indystar.com