LDN - Sports

Pistons hold off Bulls

[December 07, 2016] AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Stan Van Gundy found a productive lineup and stuck with it. He didn't care that four starters were left out of the mix.

The Detroit Pistons coach got the boost he was seeking from four bench players in a 102-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday at The Palace. The Pistons outscored the Bulls 31-19 in the fourth quarter, including a 12-0 outburst early in the quarter when they took the lead for good.

"It would have been hard to pull that group off the floor, as well as they were playing," Van Gundy said. "It wasn't like they were just hanging in there or outplaying the other group by a little bit. They were dominant in that stretch and there was just no way to break that lineup."

Starters Marcus Morris and Reggie Jackson never got off the bench in the fourth quarter, and franchise player Andre Drummond only played a minute. Kentavious Caldwell-Pope played the final 3:38 of the fourth.

"We had it rolling, so he just let us play," said reserve forward Jon Leuer, who had three points, three rebounds and a steal in the fourth. "Obviously, you appreciate that as a player when a group has it going like that, regardless if you're a bench player, a starter, whatever. If a group has it going, it's good to just let them ride it out."

Tobias Harris, the only starter who played throughout the quarter, led a balanced attack with 22 points as Pistons rebounded after squandering a 17-point, first-half lead.

Drummond supplied 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons (12-11), who have won four of their last five games. Morris had 13 points and Caldwell-Pope chipped in 12 points. Ish Smith added seven points, five rebounds and 10 assists off the bench for Detroit.

Smith supplied five points and four assists in the decisive frame, while Aron Baynes had six points and five rebounds. Chicago had the disadvantage of playing for its fourth game in five nights.

"It's a battle of wills at that point," Leuer said. "Obviously, they're running low on energy at that point, so you just have to keep pushing the tempo like we did there and get stops. I think we did a really good job of that down the stretch."

Jimmy Butler carried the Bulls (11-10) with 32 points, six rebounds and four assists. Dwyane Wade tossed in 19 points and added seven assists, while Taj Gibson had 11 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago.

Bulls point guard Rajon Rondo, who returned after serving a one-game suspension for conduct detrimental to the team, chipped in 10 points.

The Bulls have lost three straight and six of their last nine.

"Whenever you win, everything's fine and dandy," Butler said. "Whenever you're losing, a lot of people have things to say. As they should. They have the right to do so, but you win a couple games and this is all behind us."

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Bulls guard Dwyane Wade (3) controls the ball against the Detroit Pistons in the first half at The Palace of Auburn Hills. Mandatory Credit: Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg would like to see better starts from his club.

"We're hitting a rough patch right now and you've got to find a way to fight through that," he said. "It's what's going to define our team this year -- how we handle these adverse situations. We've got a lot of home games coming up and we need to do a better job of coming out with energy and playing well at home."

Baynes scored half of the points in 12-0 run to put Detroit on top 83-75. Hoiberg called timeout after Darrun Hilliard hit a corner three-pointer in transition off a Smith feed with 7:28 left, capping the outburst. Butler made a bank shot to halt the run but the Bulls couldn't pull any closer than six.

Caldwell-Pope's runner with 3:07 left made it 94-83 to give Detroit its first double-digit lead since the second quarter.

NOTES: Pistons PG Reggie Jackson is questionable to play at Charlotte on Wednesday. He was playing just his second game of the season Tuesday after recovering from knee tendinitis. "There hasn't been a blanket statement that he won't play back-to-backs, but I also haven't gotten assurances that he will, either," coach Stan Van Gundy said. ... Bulls F Doug McDermott is showing good progress as he recovers from a concussion, coach Fred Hoiberg said. McDermott, who has missed 11 straight games, practiced with the D-League's Windy City Bulls the past two days and will be re-evaluated Wednesday. ... Entering play Tuesday, the Pistons were giving up an average of 10.3 second-chance points, the fewest in the league. ... Chicago SG Dwyane Wade recorded his 5,000th career assist against Portland on Monday. He became the eighth player since 1983-84 to notch 20,000 points, 5,000 assists and 4,000 rebounds. ... Detroit won last season's series 3-1.

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