Bulls 95, Pistons 94: Luol Deng scored 13 of his 28 points in the fourth quarter and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds as host Chicago rallied for its 18th consecutive victory against Detroit.
Nate Robinson and Jimmy Butler added 16 points apiece for the short-handed Bulls, who moved percentage points ahead of Atlanta for fifth place in the Eastern Conference. Chicago was without center Joakim Noah (foot), and guards Marco Belinelli (abdomen) and Richard Hamilton (back spasms).
Rodney Stuckey poured in 25 points and Greg Monroe collected 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who have lost three straight and 13 of 14.
The Pistons led 57-53 at halftime before the Bulls buckled down on defense and held Detroit to 37 points in the second half. The Bulls trailed 76-71 early in the fourth quarter, but Deng scored seven points during a 9-2 run that put Chicago ahead.
Deng and Robinson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push it to 91-84 with 3:55 left. Stuckey's layup pulled the Pistons back within 92-91 with 1:27 left, but Deng put back a Robinson miss with 1:05 left and Detroit held on.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The Bulls have not lost to the Pistons since Dec. 23, 2008, and have won 14 straight regular-season meetings in Chicago dating to Feb. 24, 2006. … Chicago PF Carlos Boozer finished with 11 points and seven rebounds, snapping a streak of five consecutive double-doubles. … Monroe's double-double was his career-best 34th of the season.
Detroit | Chicago | |
Rodney Stuckey 25 | Scoring | Luol Deng 28 |
Jose Calderon 5 | Assists | Kirk Hinrich 6 |
Andre Drummond 14 | Rebounds | Luol Deng 9 |
Greg Monroe 4 | Free Throws Made | Luol Deng 11 |
Brandon Knight 2 | Steals | Jimmy Butler 5 |
Greg Monroe 2 | Blocks | Taj Gibson 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Detroit | 94 | 50.0 | 7-16 | 15-22 | 22 | 45 | 5 | 5 | 17 |
Chicago | 95 | 39.5 | 8-23 | 27-40 | 19 | 37 | 4 | 10 | 9 |