INDIANAPOLIS -- While most of the NBA is talking about Indiana Pacers' forward Paul George's prolific scoring, George and his teammates are talking about defense.

George, who entered Friday night's game against the Chicago Bulls averaging 25.9 points, scored 33 in a 104-92 victory in Bankers Life Fieldhouse.

But George was all smiles about limiting the Bulls to 34.8 percent shooting (32 of 92), including a combined 8 of 26 from high-scoring guards Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose.

"We don't like to be scored on," said George, who scored 24 during the final 24 minutes. "We did a good job of piecing this one together. I am now a leader on this team, and it all starts with me. We are really playing together."

Conversely, Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg did not like his team's transition defense.

"That's a big thing we stressed going into this one was getting back and building a wall and not giving them transition 3s," Hoiberg said. "Turnovers fueled a lot of those transition points. We've got to do a better job getting back against this team with the rhythm they're playing in right now."

Rose is also concerned by the Bulls' defensive struggles.

"I'm not even worried about offense to tell you the truth," Rose said. "If we can't stop anybody or put stops together, there's no point in even talking about offense. We're not trying to outscore teams, we're trying to play defense."

Guard C.J. Miles had 16 first-half points for Indiana (10-5), which won its fourth in a row and is 10-2 after losing the first three games of the season.

Chicago (9-5) led 7-2 in the opening three minutes before the Pacers countered with a 17-2 run that included seven from Miles. Indiana was up 19-9 with 6:12 remaining in the first quarter and never trailed again.

Center Ian Mahinmi had 15 points and nine rebounds for Indiana, guard Monta Ellis scored 14 points and Lavoy Allen had 12 points and 10 rebounds.

Ellis said the Pacers were eager to play the Bulls again after a 96-95 loss on Nov. 16 in the United Center.

"We let one get away in Chicago," Ellis said. "Tonight, we were hungry. We wanted to make it tough for them."

And that the Pacers did, much to coach Frank Vogel's liking.

"We have players that care about that (defensive) end of the floor," Vogel said. "As a coaching staff, we have a high standard of what we expect defensively. Our versatility at the defensive end has been very good for us, especially with so many teams playing smaller lineups."

Indiana made 37 of 87 shots from the field (42.5 percent).

Forward Nikola Mirotic led Chicago with 25 points, Butler added 16, guard Kirk Hinrich scored 11 and Rose finished with 10.

Mirotic made 8 of 14 field goal attempts, but the other Chicago starters were a collective 14 of 49 (28.6 percent).

George and guard Rodney Stuckey began the fourth quarter with consecutive field goals to push Indiana's lead to 76-63, prompting a timeout from the Bulls with 11:05 remaining.

A George 3-pointer with 5:15 to play gave the Pacers a comfortable 92-78 advantage.

Rose and Butler made consecutive 3-pointers to trim the Chicago deficit to 96-86 with 2:35remaining.

A Mirotic layup with 7:17 left in the third quarter sliced the Pacers' lead to 61-53. Indiana got baskets from Ellis and George during the final 58 seconds, establishing a 72-63 lead through 36 minutes. After three quarters, Chicago was shooting 31.3 percent from the field (21 of 67) and had 13 turnovers.

The Pacers enjoyed a 51-42 halftime lead, limiting the Bulls to 36.4 percent shooting from the floor (16 of 44), including 1 of 7 from Rose. Indiana made 22 of 51 (43.1 percent) during the first 24 minutes.

"We started the game slow," Bulls center Pau Gasol said. "They were getting the loose balls, they were getting to the offensive glass. They were making shots, transition and a lot of easy points early on. That's not the right way to start when you're on the road against a team that is playing at a high level right now."

The Pacers outrebounded the Bulls 26-25 and forced nine turnovers in the first half.

Mirotic led the Bulls with 12 first-half points. George added nine for Indiana in support of Miles, who made 6 of 10 shots from the field in the opening half.

NOTES: The Bulls played without G Aaron Brooks (left hamstring) and F Mike Dunleavy (back). ... The Pacers were without F/C Myles Turner (left thumb). ... After averaging 92.7 points during an 0-3 start, Indiana averaged 103.6 in winning 9 of 11 entering Friday's game. ... The Pacers lead the NBA in 3-point field goal percentage (41.6) and rank second in steals per game (10.1) and opponents' turnovers per game (18.2) ... The Bulls are third in rebounds per game (46.9). ... The teams split last season's series 2-2, each winning once on the other's court ... Pacers G/F Paul George ranks fourth in NBA scoring at 25.9 points and Chicago G Jimmy Butler ranks 15th at 21.1. ... Bulls C Pau Gasol is eighth in rebounding at 10.0 and Chicago G Doug McDermott is second in 3-point field goal percentage at 48.9. ... The Pacers' next four games are on the road before returning home to play Golden State on Dec. 8.