Bulls host Central Division-rival Indiana

This is the second meeting of the season between the clubs. On November 11th, Kirk Hinrich ended with 23 points to lead the Bulls past the Pacers, 89-80, at the United Center.

Indiana has lost two straight and four of its last five at Chicago. The Bulls have won two in a row and five of the last eight contests in this series.

The Bulls play the sixth of a season-long eight-game homestand. They are 4-1 on the stand. On Saturday, Kevin Garnett posted 18 points, 11 rebounds and eight assists as the Minnesota Timberwolves defeated the red-hot Bulls, 91-81, at the United Center.

Ben Gordon scored 21 points in the loss to Minnesota for the Bulls, who had a seven-game winning streak halted. Andres Nocioni ended with 17 points, while Kirk Hinrich netted 15 and handed out eight assists in defeat.

Chicago is 7-2 at the United Center this season. The Bulls are scheduled to host the Seattle SuperSonics on Wednesday and the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday.

Indiana wraps up a short two-game road trip. On Saturday, LeBron James poured in a game-high 27 points, pulled down seven rebounds and dished out six assists as the Cleveland Cavaliers crushed the Pacers, 107-75, at Quicken Loans Arena.

Veteran Darrell Armstrong led the Pacers with 13 points off the bench in the loss to Cleveland. Danny Granger contributed 12 points and nine rebounds for Indiana, which has dropped four of its last six games overall.

On the injury front for Indiana, forward Jermaine O`Neal (sore left hamstring) is questionable. He did not play against Cleveland and has missed two straight games. O’Neal leads the Pacers in scoring (17.8 ppg) and rebounding (9.9 rpg).

The Pacers are just 5-9 on the road this season. After tonight’s contest they return home for a three-game stand. Indiana will host the Detroit Pistons, New York Knicks and Utah Jazz on the upcoming homestand.