Read More: Carlos Boozer (F – CHI), Richard Hamilton (G – CHI), Derrick Rose (G – CHI), Tom Thibodeau (A – BOS), Indiana Pacers, Chicago Bulls

The Chicago Bulls announced on Tuesday night that the team will be making a “major announcement” at 11 a.m. on Wednesday afternoon at a press conference featuring point guard Derrick Rose, head coach Tom Thibodeau, vice president of basketball operations John Paxson and general manager Gar Forman. 

Rose wouldn’t mention any specifics after Tuesday night’s game against the Indiana Pacers, but it’s expected that the presser will announce a five-year, $94.8 million contract that’s reportedly been agreed upon already by the Bulls and their star point guard. At this point, the deal is being treated as effectively done, as Carlos Boozer made comments recently:

We’re all very excited for him. He deserves it. He puts in a lot of effort. I wish the contract was for 10 years.”

The Bulls won 93-85 on Tuesday night against Indiana, beating the Pacers in a pair of preseason games to gear up for the regular season. Chicago is expected to be a major contender for the championship once again this season with Rose at the helm, especially given the recent addition of shooting guard Richard Hamilton.

For updates on free agent moves, stay tuned to SB Nation Chicago. For in-depth coverage of the Bulls, visit Blog a Bull. For more news and notes from around the league, head over to SB Nation’s NBA news hub.

BYU star Jimmer Fredette completed workouts in Indianapolis on Tuesday afternoon with the Indiana Pacers.

Reports coming out of the workouts are that Fredette was very impressive. Duke’s Nolan Smith, Marcus Morris of Kansas, Tobias Harris of Tennessee and Vernon Macklin of Florida also took part in workouts for Larry Bird and other members of the Pacers organization. Fredette also has plans to work out with the Knicks, Sacramento, Utah and Phoenix.

Here’s a report on Fredette’s performance in Indiana. Check out an interview with Fredette from Tuesday after his workout. He also appeared on a show called “Pacer’s Crate” that you can watch here.

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Quietly, the Philadelphia 76ers have gone on a tear.

Andre Iguodala, coming off back-to-back triple-doubles, finished with 16 points and 10 assists to help Philadelphia beat the Indiana Pacers 110-100 Tuesday night. Thaddeus Young scored 18 points, Jrue Holiday scored 16 and Jodie Meeks added 15 for the 76ers, who have won seven of eight.

“We’re just starting to find ourselves,” Iguodala said. “Guys are starting to get comfortable. I know where Elton’s going to be, I know where Jodie’s going to be, and I know where I’m going to be. We’re all just feeling each other out. It’s coming together.”

Iguodala also shut down Indiana’s leading scorer. Danny Granger entered the game averaging 21 points, but he finished with 11 on 4 for 11 shooting.

Iguodala has averaged 14.8 points, 8.4 assists and 7.9 rebounds the past eight games.

“I don’t know what player out there is going to bring the defense he brings, the unselfishness he brings, and the ability to score that he brings.” Philadelphia forward Elton Brand said. “He can see the court. If he’s not scoring the ball, he’s seeing other guys, and he’s putting us in easy positions to knock the shots down.”

Philadelphia shot 51 percent and forced Indiana into 20 turnovers. All five 76ers starters scored at least 12 points, and seven players scored in double figures.

Tyler Hansbrough led Indiana with 26 points, one short of his career high. He shot made 11 of 14 shots as a reserve.

“Hansbrough was unbelievable,” Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said. “That guy is a really, really good player. He’s really good.”

Roy Hibbert scored 13 points, and rookie Paul George had a season-high 10 rebounds for Indiana.

The Pacers started off 7-1 under interim coach Frank Vogel, but now have lost four straight and six of seven.

“Our guys have to do better,” Vogel said. “They understand it, I understand it. We’re not getting it done defensively and not moving the ball enough.”

Indiana trailed by 21 points in the second half, but a pair of free throws by Hansbrough cut Philadelphia’s lead to 86-76 early in the fourth quarter.

The 76ers extended their lead to 96-80 on a layup by Holiday, but Indiana rallied, and a jumper by Hansbrough cut Philadelphia’s lead to 100-91 with 2:42 left.

The Pacers trailed 100-93 and had the ball. Indiana’s A.J. Price missed a 3-pointer, but Hibbert rebounded. He looked for a teammate, but threw the ball right to Holiday, and Meeks hit a 3-pointer at the other end to push the lead back to 10 points.

“It was that kind of night,” George said. “It seemed like they were hitting about everything. Offensively, we just didn’t have it going.”

The 76ers jumped out to a 22-9 lead in the first quarter, and shot 59 percent in the first half to lead 65-53 at the break. Brand said the team was aware that Indiana was five games behind them in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

“We didn’t want to be lackadaisical,” he said. “We wanted to make this game more important to us than to them, and we came out and did that.”

The Pacers sabotaged their efforts to come back early in the second half with turnovers. Philadelphia’s Spencer Hawes hit back-to-back baskets, then Holiday dunked an alley-oop pass from Iguodala to give the 76ers a 77-58 lead and force the Pacers to call a timeout. Indiana rallied late in the quarter and trailed 84-70 at the end of the period, but Philadelphia finished strong in the final minutes.

“We’re riding high right now,” Brand said. “We’re playing very well. Against the good teams, we’re playing well, even if we lose. We feel like we can beat just about any team.”

 

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) – Quietly, the Philadelphia 76ers have gone on a tear.

Andre Iguodala, coming off back-to-back triple-doubles, finished with 16 points and 10 assists to help Philadelphia beat the Indiana Pacers 110-100 Tuesday night. Thaddeus Young scored 18 points, Jrue Holiday scored 16 and Jodie Meeks added 15 for the 76ers, who have won seven of eight.

“We’re just starting to find ourselves,” Iguodala said. “Guys are starting to get comfortable. I know where Elton’s going to be, I know where Jodie’s going to be, and I know where I’m going to be. We’re all just feeling each other out. It’s coming together.”

Iguodala also shut down Indiana’s leading scorer. Danny Granger entered the game averaging 21 points, but he finished with 11 on 4 for 11 shooting.

Iguodala has averaged 14.8 points, 8.4 assists and 7.9 rebounds the past eight games.

“I don’t know what player out there is going to bring the defense he brings, the unselfishness he brings, and the ability to score that he brings.” Philadelphia forward Elton Brand said. “He can see the court. If he’s not scoring the ball, he’s seeing other guys, and he’s putting us in easy positions to knock the shots down.”

Philadelphia shot 51 percent and forced Indiana into 20 turnovers. All five 76ers starters scored at least 12 points, and seven players scored in double figures.

Tyler Hansbrough led Indiana with 26 points, one short of his career high. He shot made 11 of 14 shots as a reserve.

“Hansbrough was unbelievable,” Philadelphia coach Doug Collins said. “That guy is a really, really good player. He’s really good.”

Roy Hibbert scored 13 points, and rookie Paul George had a season-high 10 rebounds for Indiana.

The Pacers started off 7-1 under interim coach Frank Vogel, but now have lost four straight and six of seven.

“Our guys have to do better,” Vogel said. “They understand it, I understand it. We’re not getting it done defensively and not moving the ball enough.”

Indiana trailed by 21 points in the second half, but a pair of free throws by Hansbrough cut Philadelphia’s lead to 86-76 early in the fourth quarter.

The 76ers extended their lead to 96-80 on a layup by Holiday, but Indiana rallied, and a jumper by Hansbrough cut Philadelphia’s lead to 100-91 with 2:42 left.

The Pacers trailed 100-93 and had the ball. Indiana’s A.J. Price missed a 3-pointer, but Hibbert rebounded. He looked for a teammate, but threw the ball right to Holiday, and Meeks hit a 3-pointer at the other end to push the lead back to 10 points.

“It was that kind of night,” George said. “It seemed like they were hitting about everything. Offensively, we just didn’t have it going.”

The 76ers jumped out to a 22-9 lead in the first quarter, and shot 59 percent in the first half to lead 65-53 at the break. Brand said the team was aware that Indiana was five games behind them in the Eastern Conference playoff race.

“We didn’t want to be lackadaisical,” he said. “We wanted to make this game more important to us than to them, and we came out and did that.”

The Pacers sabotaged their efforts to come back early in the second half with turnovers. Philadelphia’s Spencer Hawes hit back-to-back baskets, then Holiday dunked an alley-oop pass from Iguodala to give the 76ers a 77-58 lead and force the Pacers to call a timeout. Indiana rallied late in the quarter and trailed 84-70 at the end of the period, but Philadelphia finished strong in the final minutes.

“We’re riding high right now,” Brand said. “We’re playing very well. Against the good teams, we’re playing well, even if we lose. We feel like we can beat just about any team.”

 

MIAMI (AP) – By their standards, the Miami Heat played no defense for three quarters.

They played just enough in the fourth.

LeBron James had 41 points, 13 rebounds and eight assists, Chris Bosh added 19 points and the Miami Heat rallied from 14 points down to beat the Indiana Pacers 117-112 on Tuesday night for their seventh straight victory.

Dwyane Wade scored 17 and Mario Chalmers added 16 for Miami, which moved five games ahead of second-place Atlanta in the Southeast Division. The Heat also got within a half-game of idle Boston for the best record in the Eastern Conference.

Roy Hibbert scored 20 points and added 10 rebounds for Indiana, which fell to 4-1 under interim coach Frank Vogel. Danny Granger scored 19 and Tyler Hansbrough added 18 for the Pacers.

Chalmers forced Dahntay Jones into a five-second call with 8.9 seconds left, with Indiana out of time outs, and the Heat escaped.

Indiana was shooting better than 60 percent at one point in the second half, and was at 57 percent entering the final quarter. But the Pacers shot 5 for 18 in the fourth, including one dreadful stretch that gave the Heat life.

Indiana missed nine straight shots over a span of nearly 6½ minutes of the final quarter, but Granger’s layup with 51.9 seconds remaining — which snapped the drought — got the Pacers within 111-110.

Even after more than half a quarter without a field goal, all Indiana needed was a stop. The Heat weren’t about to let that happen.

Mike Miller missed a 3-pointer, but Bosh grabbed the offensive rebound to extend the possession and James eventually wound up connecting from 17 feet with 14.1 seconds left for a 113-110 Heat lead.

James made two free throws shortly after to maintain the three-point margin, and Eddie House made two more from the line with 6.5 seconds remaining to seal Miami’s 38th win of the season.

Darren Collison scored 15 points, Josh McRoberts added 12 and Jones scored 11 for Indiana, which was trying to join Boston and Dallas as teams that beat Miami twice this season.

Almost happened, too.

The Heat spoke both Monday and pregame Tuesday about wanting to avenge a 93-77 home loss to the Pacers on Nov. 22. It easily was their worst home defeat of the season — considering the 16-point margin in that game exceeded the 13-point margin of their other four losses in Miami combined.

Words didn’t translate into play. At least, not for much of the night, they didn’t.

James had a huge first half, 26 points on 11 for 12 shooting, with six rebounds and four assists. With him on the court in the opening two quarters, Miami outscored Indiana by 11.

Without him, the Heat were outscored by 14 — and it happened quickly. James only got one break in the opening half, a 3-minute, 35-second rest at the start of the second quarter. And Indiana set the tone in that stretch, outscoring Miami 18-4 to turn a 33-29 deficit into a 45-37 lead by the time James came back into the game.

Hansbrough carried Indiana in the quarter, going 6 of 6 for 13 points. Jones scored nine more in the second and when Hibbert scored over Erick Dampier with 2:02 left in the half the Pacers found themselves up 66-52.

James got the Heat back into the game, and fast. Miami scored the final 11 points of the half with James on the attack — outrunning Granger in transition for one dunk, flashing out of the high post and taking a pass from Chalmers for another, then converting a spinning layup while getting fouled to draw the Heat within 66-63 at halftime.

Indiana was undeterred. Granger made three 3-pointers in the third quarter, and the Pacers used a 16-5 run to take a 97-90 lead entering the fourth. Miami got within one point twice, and two points on three other occasions, but never held the lead in the period.

It took until 4:34 remained in the fourth for Miami to get back on top, coming when Dampier slammed in the rebound of a miss by Wade for a 106-105 edge — the first Heat lead since the opening 2 minutes of the second quarter.

The Pacers wouldn’t hold the lead again.