Bulls vs. Pacers: Game thread, lineups, odds, TV info and more

The Pacers and Bulls head in to the New Year's holiday weekend with an early, 4 p.m. tip at Bankers Life Fieldhouse on Friday.

The game completes the four-game regular season series between the teams in which the home team has won the prior three meetings. In fact, if you include the preseason, this will be the sixth game between the two teams. The home team won both preseason games, as well.

So, yeah, enough of the Bulls already!

The Pacers desperately need the home team trend to continue after dropping their last four games, which included one at the UC to begin the week. Monta Ellis returned in a reserve role on Wednesday and is no longer on the injury report so he will continue coming off the bench for the time being. Paul George continues to talk about changing things up on the court and now is looking to have more fun while doing more for the team. Sounds good.

Dwyane Wade has been dealing with migraine headaches lately but expects to play today. But the real problem remains Jimmy Butler, who scored 40 points along with a game-winner in the Bulls over the Nets in their last game. Butler also has gotten the best of PG in their recent meetings over the past couple of years.

For more on the Bulls, check out Blog A Bull. Also, add your thoughts and observations about the game in the comments.

Bulls vs. Pacers - 4:00 p.m. ET at Bankers Life Fieldhouse

TV: FOX Sports Indiana

Odds: Bovada has the Pacers at -4 favorites

Radio: 93.5 FM/AM 1070 The Fan

Projected Starting Lineups

Pacers: Jeff Teague (PG), Glenn Robinson III (SG), Paul George (SF), Thaddeus Young (PF), Myles Turner (C)

Bulls: Rajon Rondo (PG), Dwyane Wade (SG), Jimmy Butler (SF), Taj Gibson (PF), Robin Lopez (C)