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 Playing like a seasoned veteran, Dinwiddie had 12 points, nine
assists and three steals while limiting Rose to eight points as the
depleted Pistons surprised the Central Division-leading Chicago
Bulls 100-91 on Friday night at The Palace.
"He looked in control handling the ball and he did about as good a
job as you can do playing Derrick Rose," Pistons coach Stan Van
Gundy said. "He was poised the whole time and didn't turn it over at
all in the second half. You couldn't ask for much more."
Dinwiddie was nearly asked to head down to the NBA Development
League before Van Gundy traded starting point guard D.J. Augustin to
Oklahoma City on Thursday. Dinwiddie showed much-improved energy and
focus in practices after returning from the All-Star break and got a
temporary chance to show what he can do.
The Pistons (22-33) had only 10 players available after dealing four
before the deadline. They acquired Reggie Jackson from the Thunder
to take over the starting role, but Dinwiddie might have earned more
playing time with his performance.
"He played a very composed game," said Detroit power forward Greg
Monroe, who had 20 points. "He didn't seem to get rattled and he
played at his pace. He was definitely a big part of our win
tonight."
 Rose, who was held to single digits for the first time since Jan. 7,
was 2 of 9 from the field and had six turnovers and only two
assists.
"I had more butterflies about the start than about him," Dinwiddie
said. "I have a ton of respect for him because he came back from an
ACL (tear), too. I've just come back from that and he's one of the
best guards in the world."
Rose said the layoff hurt his rhythm.
"They were aggressive throughout the whole game," he said. "I just
couldn't find my game tonight. Thank God we've got another one
(Saturday) because this one hurts."
Detroit small forward Caron Butler also had 20 points and center
Andre Drummond dominated inside with 18 points and 20 rebounds.
Drummond had five putback attempts in a five-second span before
finally scoring early in the second quarter.
"That was a great play," Van Gundy said. "You'd like him to put the
first one in, but to stay with it like that and make the effort,
that's what we're looking for from him."
Shooting guard Jimmy Butler's 30 points led the Bulls (34-21), who
had four-game winning streak snapped. Power forward Taj Gibson
supplied 15 points and nine rebounds off the bench. Center Joakim
Noah added 10 points and 14 rebounds.
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Bulls power forward Pau Gasol, who had 12 points and eight rebounds,
saw his consecutive double-doubles snapped at 14. It was the longest
such streak by a Bulls player since Michael Jordan had 15 straight
during the 1988-89 season.
The Bulls were held to 35.9 shooting from the field in the second
half while committing 14 turnovers.
"I thought we played decently in the first half. Second half, we had
a lot of turnovers," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "They played at
a high intensity level. If you let your guard down, you're going to
get beat."
Down by six early in the third quarter, the Pistons suddenly erupted
for a 20-3 run. Butler and Monroe sparked it, with Butler firing in
three jumpers and Monroe making three layups. The last of those
layups made it 71-60. Monroe added a bank shot in the final minute
of the quarter as Detroit took a 77-68 lead into the fourth.
Chicago pulled within three on two occasions in the fourth quarter
but couldn't get any closer.
NOTES: PG Reggie Jackson, acquired by Detroit from Oklahoma City on
Thursday, will start against Washington on Sunday in his Pistons
debut. "We're in the process of building," coach Stan Van Gundy
said. "We just want to accelerate that process with him." ...
Longtime Pistons SF Tayshaun Prince, who was reacquired from Boston
on Thursday, is also expected to play Sunday. He will share time at
his usual position with another veteran, Caron Butler. ... Chicago
had everyone on its roster available to play for just the second
time this season. ... The Bulls won 22 of the last 24 meetings. ...
Chicago SG Jimmy Butler has improved his scoring average by a
league-best 7.3 points per game (20.4 from 13.1) and Detroit SG
Kentavious Caldwell-Pope is third on the list with a 6.0 ppg
increase (11.9 from 5.9). ... The Bulls play their next seven games
at home.
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