INDIANAPOLIS – Coby White knew his answer before the questions was even finished.
Maybe that’s why he gave a quick giggle.
The Bulls guard had just witnessed a fourth-quarter meltdown by him and his teammates, resulting in a third loss to a 12-win Pacers team this season, and was more than aware that the trade deadline was a week away.
So when asked if he felt if there was enough talent in the locker room to stay the course, there was no hesitation.
“You ain’t never going to get me to say, nah,” White said. “Obviously we’ve proved it, we’ve beaten really good teams this year. We’ve just got to continue to figure it out, make that push. We’re still in the hunt. I think we’re like two or three games out of sixth, so we’re still in the hunt. We’ve just got to keep competing. Like I’ve said I love being here, I love playing with these guys. We go out there every night and lay it on the line and sometimes things don’t go your way and sometimes they do.”
Put Wednesday’s 113-110 stinker in the “don’t go your way” category.
Not that the Bulls (23-24) would make it easy on themselves.
After pushing the lead out to 14 points with just 7:36 left in the game, it felt like it was time to start warming up the bus for the trip home.
Indiana had other plans, however, as Pascal Siakam started to flex that NBA Championship DNA. Two layups from the forward, a couple free throws and then another attack of the rim, and just like that 14 was down to just four with four minutes left.
Two minutes later the game was tied after a Jay Huff three-pointer from the top of the key.
The two teams exchanged baskets, but when White missed a 16-footer with just over a minute left, Andrew Nembhard made sure he didn’t. The guard hit the 11-foot step-back, giving the home team their first lead since the opening quarter.
Nikola Vucevic is no stranger to playing hero this season and added to that resume with a three-pointer with 33.5 left, but Aaron Nesmith answered with another attack of the rim. No problem.
Coach Billy Donovan took his final timeout with 13.9 left and had a few sets drawn up. They tried them all, first with the Pacers having a foul to give and using it, then surviving a lob to Matas Buzelis that went out of bounds but stayed Bulls ball, and then finally putting the ball in White’s hands.
As White drove for the game-winner, however, Nesmith blocked the attempted lay-up and Johnny Furphy recovered the rebound. Two free throws and just like that it remained a winless season against a 12-win Pacers team.
“I thought I had an angle,” White said of his attempted game-winning layup. “I tried to finish around (Nesmith), forgot how short my arms were, and he got a piece of the ball going up. It was a good play by him. He’s a helluva defender. Hats off to him. You learn from it and figure out what I can do better in that situation again.”
White and the Bulls better figure out something quickly, as they now face the Miami Heat three times in the next four nights.
What Donovan doesn’t want to dwell on, however, is the idea that the Bulls play down to lesser competition, especially this season.
“You have three guys out there (Siakam, Nesmith and Nembhard) that were in the NBA Finals (last year),” Donovan said. “I know their record is what it is, but you’re talking three starters in the NBA Finals. For me, I just have an enormous amount of respect for them.”