Siakam scores season-high 36 points as Pacers beat struggling Bulls 120-105

CHICAGO (AP) — Pascal Siakam scored a season-high 36 points, Bennedict Mathurin added 28 and the Indiana Pacers beat the struggling Chicago Bulls 120-105 on Friday night.

The Pacers improved to 5-18, looking more like the team that advanced to the NBA Finals last season than the injury-ravaged crew that began the night with the second-worst record in the Eastern Conference. They went on a big run early in the third quarter and withstood a big push by Chicago in picking up their first win in 11 road games this season.

Siakam heated up after a scoreless first quarter. The three-time All-Star made five 3-pointers and grabbed nine rebounds. Mathurin hit six 3s.

Andrew Nembhard added 15 points and seven assists. Jay Huff had five blocks, helping the Pacers beat Chicago for the second time in seven days. They won 103-101 in Indianapolis on Saturday, when Siakam sank a 14-foot jumper with a second left.

The Bulls (9-13) lost their season-high sixth straight. They are 3-12 after winning six of their first seven games.

Coby White scored 22 after sitting out the previous three games because of a strained left calf. Matas Buzelis had 19 points and 12 rebounds. But the Bulls committed 19 turnovers.

Siakam scored 14 points in the second quarter as the Pacers grabbed a 62-57 halftime lead. He keyed a 20-6 run to start the third, scoring nine points.

Pacers: Host Sacramento on Monday night.

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Indiana Pacers center Jay Huff (32), right, defends Chicago Bulls guard Josh Giddey (3) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan yells to his team during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Indiana Pacers head coach Rick Carlisle yells to his team during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Chicago Bulls forward Zach Collins (12) sinks a three-point shot during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Indiana Pacers, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

Indiana Pacers forward Pascal Siakam (43) handles the ball during the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls, Friday, Dec. 5, 2025, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Erin Hooley)

NEW ORLEANS (AP) — New Orleans’ mayor-elect said Friday that a federal immigration crackdown launched this week is already causing harm as encounters between masked agents and residents, including some caught on video, has prompted public backlash in the blue city.

Frustrated city officials pointed to the case of Jacelynn Guzman, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen who was walking back to her Louisiana home from a trip to the grocery store on Wednesday when a truck pulled up beside her and two masked federal agents approached her, according to security footage obtained by The Associated Press.

Guzman began running away as a second vehicle arrived and the agents pursued her down the sidewalk until she reached her family's home in Marrero, a neighborhood across the Mississippi River from downtown New Orleans. Guzman's mother has lived there her entire life.

“We’re legal, we are from here, born and raised,” Guzman shouted back at the agents. “Don’t chase me, that is disgusting.”

Guzman, who has no criminal record, told the AP that she panicked when agents approached.

“That was my only thought that they were going to take me and I wasn’t going to get to have a say in that decision,” Guzman said. “Because most likely they didn’t care that I was saying I was a U.S. citizen. So why would they care what else I had to say?”

Several hundred agents under Border Patrol commander Gregory Bovino have converged on Southeast Louisiana this week as part of an immigration enforcement operation seeking to arrest 5,000 people. The Department of Homeland Security has touted dozens of arrests with only limited details released. Many Hispanic residents have said they feel their community is at risk of being abused or detained by agents regardless of their legal status.

Alongside city council members, Democratic Congressman Troy Carter, Hispanic leaders and civil rights advocates, Mayor-elect Helena Moreno expressed “deep concern over recent actions” by federal agents. She said the operation is causing harm — forcing businesses to shutter and workers to stay home out of fear of mass arrests.

While federal officials have repeatedly said the goal of the operation is to target dangerous criminals who entered the country illegally, Moreno argued “that does not appear to be the case.”

Moreno said she is asking for regular public briefings from federal agencies, which she asks includes data on the stops, detentions, charges, warrants, outcomes and if any of the people detained have violent criminal histories.

“Without this full visibility into these enforcement actions, it is impossible to determine whether this particular operation is actually targeting the most dangerous offenders,” Moreno said.

Guzman’s stepfather, Juan Anglin, said he understood federal agents had a job to do but believed they were going about it in the wrong way.

Anglin heard his stepdaughter screaming outside and went out to confront the agents. He told the AP that Guzman ran from the agents because she was a young woman surrounded by aggressive masked men.

“I thought she was going to be kidnapped, honestly,” Anglin said. “I thought somebody was going to hurt her."

In response to the incident, the Department of Homeland Security said Border Patrol had been searching for a “criminal illegal alien previously charged with felony theft and convicted of illegal possession of stolen property.”

DHS said the agents “encountered a female matching the description of the target” and that agents “identified themselves" and left when they realized Guzman was not who they were seeking.

Anglin disputes the government's narrative and says she was stopped solely because of her appearance.

“Just because you look brown, you look Hispanic, you're going to get stopped,” he said. “Because now it doesn’t matter if you have papers, you speak English or you are a citizen, it’s not enough."

Sara Cline contributed reporting from Baton Rouge.

Brook is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.

Juan Anglin, who watched federal agents chase his step-daughter Jacelynn Guzman, a 23-year-old U.S. citizen, as she was walking on the sidewalk, stands outside his home in Marrero, La., Thursday, Dec. 5, 2025. (AP Photo/Jack Brook)