when the Bulls (16-17) host Milwaukee on Saturday. He also wasn’t concerned about Rondo taking the demotion poorly.

“I thought he (Rondo) was great, I could hear him over on the bench,” Hoiberg said. “He was a great teammate to those guys out there on the floor. He was leading the cheers over there on the bench. I thought he was good.”

“Nothing surprises me in this league,” Rondo said after the contest. “I’m a veteran, I’m a professional. I will always prepare well with the expectation to play and contribute.”

Backup center Cristiano Felicio played down the stretch in the fourth quarter and recorded his first career double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. It’s a good sign, but Indiana plays a small lineup most of the time. Felicio has struggled to hold onto rebounds against taller opponents in recent games.

Doug McDermott scored 10 points, hitting 4 of 5 shots from the field, but didn’t even attempt a shot in the second half. That’s also been a problem, getting open looks for one of their best shooters.

“Doug’s a guy that teams are going to hug on the perimeter, especially when he hits a couple,” Hoiberg said.

Nikola Mirotic didn’t have a great game, hitting just 3 of 14 shots from the field. Some poor defensive positioning by Mirotic allowed Indiana’s Paul George (32 points) to get an open path for a lay in late in the fourth quarter.

The Bulls tied the score at 97-97 on a Butler drive with 4:52 remaining. After an exchange of misses, George was fouled on a 3-point attempt and hit all 3 free throws. Wade’s runner brought the Bulls back within 1 and they missed a chance to take the lead.

From there, George got the open lane to the basket to make it 102-99, Mirotic missed a corner 3, then a lob to Thaddeus Young put the Pacers up by 5 points with 2:18 left.

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