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 The Bulls won despite Chauncey Billups' 15 fourth-quarter points. Chicago has won four of its last five, and ended Detroit's winning streak at five games.
Luol Deng had 17 points and Joe Smith added 14 rebounds.
Richard Hamilton scored 24 for Detroit, but only had two in the final period. Rasheed Wallace added 18.
The Bulls led 45-43 at the half, mostly because of their rebounding. Former Detroit players Ben Wallace and Smith combined for 24 rebounds in the half, while the Pistons had 19. Chicago had a 16-5 edge in offensive rebounds.
The teams traded the advantage throughout the third quarter, with Chicago holding a 72-69 lead until Lindsey Hunter's 22-foot jumper at the buzzer.
Chicago scored the first seven points of the fourth to take a 79-71 lead with 9:30 left, but Billups answered with nine points in the next three minutes.
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Despite being the only Pistons player to score in the first 9:53 of the period, Billups had the deficit down to 83-80 at one point.
Nocioni ended the one-man surge with a three-point play, and Chicago held on for its fourth straight win against Detroit.
Notes: Ben Wallace, notorious for his terrible free-throw shooting, was 6-of-7 from the line in the first half, including a pair with 0.5 seconds left. ... The Bulls' bench, led by Nocioni, outscored Detroit's 45-14. ... Smith only had one rebound in limited second-half minutes as Chicago went with a smaller lineup. ... The Pistons, who are celebrating their 50th anniversary in Detroit, wore throwback jerseys based on their 1950s-era uniforms.
[Associated Press]
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