Pascal Siakam's fadeaway vs Bulls gives Pacers second straight win

INDIANAPOLIS -- Pascal Siakam scored 24 points, grabbed nine rebounds, dished out four assists and hit a game-winning fadeaway jumper with 0.1 seconds to go to give the Pacers a 103-101 win over the Bulls on Saturday night at Gainbridge Fieldhouse.

The Pacers have won consecutive games for the first time this season and improved to 4-16. The Bulls have lost three straight and fell to 9-10.

Guard Bennedict Mathurin scored 19 points. Centers Isaiah Jackson and Jay Huff and guard Andrew Nembhard scored 14 each. Jackson also grabbed 11 rebounds. Huff had eight rebounds and four blocks. Josh Giddey and Tre Jones led the Bulls with 17 points each.

Here are three observations.

Pacers win in fourth with defense

The Pacers ultimately won the game because Pascal Siakam gave them a shot when they needed one. He was one of their lone reliable offensive weapons in the second half, scoring 12 points on 6 of 12 shooting after the break, and his fadeaway gave the Pacers their first clutch win of the season after watching Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brandon Ingram hit buzzer beaters on them.

However, the Pacers were able to hold on in the fourth because of defense. They struggled to shoot the ball, making just 8 of 23 fourth-quarter field goals and missing all 10 of their 3-point attempts. However, they held the Bulls without a field goal from the 4:51 mark in the fourth quarter until Jay Huff was called for a goaltend with 7.5 seconds to go. The Bulls were 9 of 21 from the floor, 1 of 8 from 3 in the fourth and scored just 21 points. The Pacers scored just 17 but that was enough.

Jay Huff scores Pacers' first 14 points

Bennedict Mathurin hit Jay Huff for a 3-pointer on a throwback pass on the Pacers' second possession of the game and Indiana found a weakness in the Bulls' defense that they kept exploiting until Huff finally missed.

Huff got the Pacers next basket on a rebound and a putback, then proceeded to hit three straight fairly wide open 3-pointers on pick-and-pop actions. In less than four minutes, Huff had 14 points on 5 of 5 shooting including 4 of 4 from 3 and accounted for all of the Pacers' scoring, giving the Pacers a 14-9 lead.

The Bulls didn't leave Huff that open again after that so he cooled down. He finished with 14 points on 5 of 9 shooting including 4 of 8 from 3-point range, but he also grabbed eight rebound and blocked four shots with three of them coming in the fourth quarter. He entered Saturday's game holding the NBA's official lead with 2.2 blocks per game.

Isaiah Jackson posts double-double

The Pacers' center rotation has started to find a groove as it's shrunk to three players and they seem to have established roles. Though Rick Carlisle has moved Jay Huff and Isaiah Jackson in and out of the starting spot, both have been productive in different combinations when called upon.

While Huff scored the first 14 points as the starter on Saturday, Jackson was steady on both ends of the floor. He scored 14 points on 5 of 5 shooting, and also grabbed 11 rebounds including four on offense and seven on defense. He also blocked x shots and committed a manageable four fouls in 23 minutes, a sign of progress there.

This article originally appeared on Indianapolis Star: Pascal Siakam's fadeaway vs Bulls gives Pacers second straight win