Victor Oladipo's debut after a year-long absence ended in victory as the Indiana Pacers beats the visiting Chicago Bulls 115-106 in overtime on Wednesday at Bankers Life Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.
Oladipo, a two-time NBA All-Star, made his return to the court after sitting out an entire calendar year with a ruptured quad tendon suffered on Jan. 24, 2019 versus the Toronto Raptors.
He was the hero Wednesday courtesy of a game-tying three-pointer that knotted the match at 100 with 10.3 seconds left to complete a 7-0 run. A Zach LaVine game-winning shot attempt did not connect, and the two teams went into overtime.
Once there, Malcolm Brogdon took over with five straight points to give the Pacers an 108-102 lead. Chicago never came closer than five points from that moment forward.
T.J. Warren led the Pacers with 25 points. Malcolm Brogdon had a near triple-double with 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Oladipo finished with nine points.
Chandler Hutchison paced the Bulls offense off the bench with 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting. Zach LaVine added 20.
The matchup marked the first NBA game in Indiana since Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant and his daughter Gianna Maria passed away Sunday in a helicopter accident.
John, Keri and Alyssa Altobelli, Sarah and Payton Chester, Christina Mauser and Ara Zobayan also died in the crash. The group was en route to the Mamba Sports Academy in Thousand Oaks, California.
Oladipo paid tribute by wearing a Bryant Western Conference All-Star Game jersey to the matchup. Chicago also started the match with an eight-second backcourt violation (in honor of Bryant's No. 8 jersey) before Indiana followed with a 24-second shot clock violation (in honor of Bryant's No. 24 jersey).
The shorthanded Bulls, who were without Lauri Markkanen, Otto Porter and Wendell Carter Jr. among others due to injury, fell to 19-31. Indiana improved to 31-17.
