With a team as deep as the Pacers, players find themselves barely playing in one game and carrying the load the next. Jalen Rose experienced such a change Saturday, when he went from an afterthought in Games 1 and 2 to the Pacers’ second-leading scorer and designated Michael Jordan-chaser in Game 3.
Rose made 6 of 11 shots for 15 points and dished out six assists in 28 minutes. In the first two games, he had played a total of 29 minutes and scored nine points.
“He was a spark off the bench,” Pacers coach Larry Bird said. “One thing about Jalen, you know he is going to make some mistakes on the defensive end and with turnovers, but if you let him play through it, he can help offensively.”
Rose obviously helped with the scoring, but the surprise was his defense on Jordan. Rose said there are no great secrets to guarding Jordan.
“Just stay in front of him, contest his shot and hope that he misses,” Rose said.
Rose shared the credit with his fellow benchmates, who don’t like to be referred to as reserves.
“Sitting in the locker room before the game, we all talked about 12 guys needed to contribute for us to win,” Rose said. “That’s what we’ve done all year. We don’t have a first team and a second team. We are one team, and that’s why we’ve been so successful.”
Antonio Davis (10 points, 12 rebounds) seconded the notion.
“We have just as much heart and character as the starters,” he said. “When we’re on the floor, there shouldn’t be much of a dropoff.”
Bird has suggested that he would want to Rose run his team someday, as a 6-foot-8 point guard. He has been patient with Rose and admires his cool head. Though Rose’s four turnovers included a failed entry pass with 1:04 to play that contributed to the Bulls’ late rally, he made two free throws with 36.1 seconds to play that gave the Pacers a 102-98 lead.
Bird believes in letting Rose work through his mistakes. “If he gets it going,” Bird said, “you just let him play.”
Home cookin’: Reggie Miller could see a difference in the Market Square Arena crowd when the starting lineups were introduced. In the past, Miller remembered, 40 percent of the crowd came to root for the Bulls. That was not the case Saturday.
“To see Michael Jordan get booed,” Miller said, shaking his head, “I thought I would never see the day.”
Best foot forward: The Bulls were impressed with the job Travis Best did in relief of Mark Jackson at point guard, finishing with 11 points, four assists and just two turnovers. Best played 25 minutes after Jackson continued to struggle against Scottie Pippen’s defense.
“Best had too much quickness for us to handle,” Jordan said. “When Jackson was in, Scottie was able to handle him. We didn’t have an answer for Best.”
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Pippen said the Pacers’ bench “just killed us,” with Best in a leading role.
“Jackson has not been able to lead the team offensively in the second half,” Pippen said. “It’s no surprise to see Best out there.”
Etc.: Pole-sitter Billy Boat and four-time Indy 500 winner A.J. Foyt presented the game ball to the officials before the opening tip. . . . The Pacers (53.7 percent) shot better than 50 percent for the first time in the series. . . . The Bulls’ shooting (45.9 percent) also was their best figure of the series. . . . The Pacers became only the second team to surpass 100 points on the Bulls in 11 playoff games this season. . . . There were no penalties assessed for a brief fourth-quarter tussle involving Ron Harper and Antonio Davis after Harper sent Miller into the Pacers’ bench with a hard foul with the Bulls scrambling for a steal.