Bulls Eliminated From Playoff Contention After Pacers Beat Nets

(CBS) For the first time since 2008, the Bulls will miss the postseason.

The Indiana Pacers' 129-105 win against the Brooklyn Nets on Sunday evening officially eliminated Chicago from playoff contention. At 40-40, the ninth-place Bulls can't overtake the Pacers, who improved to 43-37 with two games left.

The Bulls had sported the league's third-longest playoff appearance streak at seven seasons running, behind the Spurs and Hawks. It will be the first time in the careers of veterans Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson that they miss the playoffs.

Chicago will now have a lottery draft pick. The Bulls currently slot in at the No. 14 pick, with the No. 12 and No. 13 spots in play as well with two games left -- as well as the extremely small chance of nabbing a top-three pick with ping-pong ball luck.

The lottery team that finishes with the best record -- where the Bulls sit right now -- has about a 0.5 percent chance of nabbing the No. 1 pick, a 0.6 percent chance at No. 2 and 0.7 percent chance at No. 3.