Tyrus Thomas can thank Taj Gibson’s foul trouble, not his own tirade, for receiving his third-most playing minutes in six weeks Tuesday night at Conseco Fieldhouse.
But whatever the cause, Thomas took advantage, returning from his one-game suspension for berating coach Vinny Del Negro to make big plays down the stretch of the Bulls’ 109-101 victory over the Pacers.
The Bulls are back to .500 and Thomas was back to making athletic plays with nine points, seven rebounds, a block and a steal in his 28 minutes, 23 seconds.
Thomas won a jump ball that led to Derrick Rose’s three-point play, drove in controlled fashion and dished to Gibson for a dunk and swished a 20-foot jumper to cap a game-changing 17-6 run that erased the Bulls’ seven-point deficit early in the fourth.
“He’s so athletic that he affects the game when he’s engaged,” John Salmons said. “He gets his hands on balls, rebounds, puts back shots. When he masters that, he really helps us.”
Salmons’ answer proved far more expansive than those from Thomas, who entered just 2:18 after tipoff and played the next 14:46. That’s close to Thomas’ playing time from each of his last three games, which led to his frustration and blow-up.
Before the game, Thomas said he had “no regrets” about the incident and “there’s nothing to be frustrated about.” Afterward, he addressed his night, which included him grabbing three rebounds and playing six minutes before his first shot — a strong drive and score after passing up a jumper.
“I felt good,” he said. “I was just playing ball, trying to win, working for the team. I’m always ready to play. The more you’re out there, the more you can do.”
Luol Deng did plenty as well with 23 points, 11 rebounds, three steals and two blocks. Fourteen of his points came in the first quarter and seven came in the fourth, including a fast-break dunk off a Rose steal.
After a poor first half, the Bulls’ defense awoke in the fourth. Deng’s steal led to a Gibson fast-break dunk, and the Pacers managed just 15 points in the final 12 minutes.
“Our energy and effort overall in the fourth quarter was the difference,” Del Negro said.
Salmons scored 12 points without missing a shot and his 21 overall featured 10 trips to the free-throw line.
The Bulls shot better than 50 percent for just the ninth time this season. Thomas, at 80 percent, led the way.
“Tyrus gave us a big boost,” Del Negro said. “He was solid.”
Group hug everybody?
– – –
Big number
33.3
After the Bulls allowed 47 percent shooting through three quarters, they limited the Pacers to 7 of 21 in the fourth period.
———–
kcjohnson@tribune.com
