Haliburton scores 23 points as the Pacers beat the Bulls 132-123

CHICAGO (AP) — Tyrese Haliburton had 23 points and eight assists, and the Indiana Pacers stopped a four-game slide with a 132-123 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night.

Pascal Siakam scored 21 points for Indiana, and Bennedict Mathurin finished with 19. The Pacers shot 56.5% from the field and had six players score in double figures.

Indiana led by 13 at halftime, but Chicago closed to 112-109 on Josh Giddey's layup with 6:53 remaining. Haliburton responded with a 3-pointer, sparking an 8-0 run for the Pacers.

Haliburton made five 3s as Indiana went 18 for 29 from long range.

Zach LaVine scored 32 points for Chicago, which had won two in a row. Coby White had 19 points and nine assists, and Ayo Dosunmu added 15 points.

Pacers: Siakam and Myles Turner each went 3 for 5 from beyond the arc. The Pacers shot a season-high 62.1% from 3.

Bulls: Led by LaVine, Chicago also had a solid night from long range. It just wasn’t as efficient as Indiana. The Bulls shot 21 for 50 from 3.

The Pacers shot a blistering 11 of 13 from the field to begin the second quarter, turning a five-point deficit into a 12-point advantage. The 24-9 run by Indiana flipped the game in a quarter that the Pacers eventually won by 17.

Indiana outscored Chicago 56-42 in points in the paint.

The Pacers host the Charlotte Hornets on Sunday. The Bulls continue their three-game homestand when they host the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/nba

Chicago Bulls' Lonzo Ball (2) knocks the ball out of the hands of Indiana Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin onto his leg and out of bounds during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Indiana Pacers' T.J. McConnell drives between the pressure of Chicago Bulls' Dalen Terry, left, and Coby White during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Indiana Pacers' T.J. McConnell drives to the basket as Chicago Bulls' Matas Buzelis defends during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Indiana Pacers' Bennedict Mathurin is fouled by Chicago Bulls' Nikola Vucevic as Mathurin drives to the basket during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Indiana Pacers' Pascal Siakam signals his three-point basket as Chicago Bulls' Ayo Dosunmu watches during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

Indiana Pacers' Obi Toppin scores past Chicago Bulls' Dalen Terry during the second half of an NBA basketball game Friday, Dec. 6, 2024, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

DEIR AL-BALAH, Gaza Strip (AP) — An Israeli strike killed five Palestinian journalists outside a hospital in the Gaza Strip overnight, the Health Ministry said early Thursday. The Israeli military said it had targeted a group of militants.

The strike hit a car outside the Al-Awda Hospital in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in the central part of the territory. The journalists were working for the local Quds News Network.

The military said it targeted a group of fighters from Islamic Jihad, a militant group allied with Hamas, whose Oct. 7, 2023 attack into southern Israel ignited the war. Associated Press footage showed the incinerated shell of a van, with press markings still visible on the back doors.

Several young men attended the funeral outside the hospital, many of them sobbing. The bodies were all wrapped in white shrouds, with blue press vests draped over them.

The Committee to Protect Journalists says over 130 Palestinian reporters have been killed since the start of the war. Israel has not allowed foreign reporters to enter Gaza except on military embeds.

Israel has banned the pan-Arab Al Jazeera network and accused six of its Gaza reporters of being militants. The Qatar-based broadcaster denies the allegations and accuses Israel of trying to silence its war coverage, which has focused heavily on civilian casualties from Israeli military operations.

Separately, the military said a 35-year-old reserve soldier was killed during fighting in central Gaza early Thursday. A total of 389 soldiers have been killed in Gaza since the start of the ground operation over a year ago.

The war began when Hamas-led militants stormed across the border in a surprise attack on nearby army bases and farming communities. They killed some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted around 250. Some 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, at least a third of whom are believed to be dead.

Israel's air and ground offensive has killed over 45,000 Palestinians, according to the Health Ministry. It says more than half the fatalities have been women and children but does not say how many of the dead were fighters. Israel says it has killed over 17,000 militants, without providing evidence.

The offensive has caused widespread destruction and driven around 90% of the population of 2.3 million from their homes. Hundreds of thousands are packed into squalid tent camps along the coast, with little protection from the cold, wet winter.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

A relative mourns over the body of one of the five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Mourners react as they carry the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A relative mourns over the body of one of the five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Relatives and friends mourn over the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Palestinians, mostly journalists, gather around the bodies of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City, at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

A woman reacts during the funeral of five Palestinian journalists who were killed by an Israeli airstrike in Gaza City at the Al-Aqsa Hospital in Deir al-Balah, Thursday, Dec. 26, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)