Huge Second Half Helps Pistons Rally Over Bulls, 107-91
AUBURN HILLS (AP) — Reggie Jackson had 22 points, including 17 in the third quarter, and the Detroit Pistons came back from a 19-point deficit to beat the Chicago Bulls 107-91 Saturday night.
The Pistons trailed 72-53 with 7 minutes left in the third quarter, but got a combined 27 points and 13 assists from Jackson and fellow point guard Spencer Dinwiddie in the second half.
Detroit had already taken an 80-79 lead by the start of the fourth, but its short-handed bench forced coach Stan Van Gundy into a small lineup that included three guards along with Tayshaun Prince playing out of position at power forward.
Prince, though, dominated the period on the defensive end, grabbing two early steals and pulling down nine rebounds.
That allowed Dinwiddie to take over the game on offense. He scored eight points and added three assists in a 17-0 run that put the Pistons up 100-83 with 3 minutes left. In all, the Pistons outscored the Bulls 47-11 in a 16-minute stretch spanning the final two quarters.
Pau Gasol had 27 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago. Aaron Brooks added 19 points.
The Pistons were missing Greg Monroe (knee) for the third straight game, and lost another power forward, Shawne Williams, to an illness.
That didn't take long to become an issue. The Pistons led 30-20 after the first quarter, but with Prince in his first stint at power forward, the Bulls went on a 26-6 run to start the second period. Detroit missed 13 of 15 shots during one stretch, even after bringing their starters back in.
The Bulls ended up outscoring the Pistons 36-14 in the quarter to take a 56-44 halftime lead. Brooks had 15 in the half for Chicago, which outshot Detroit 53.8 percent to 40.4 percent.
Things started much the same in the third quarter, as Gasol, Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy quickly had both Andre Drummond and Anthony Tolliver in foul trouble. That prompted Van Gundy to go back to his overmatched bench, with predictable results.
Gasol had 11 points in the first 5 minutes of the third, helping the Bulls build a 72-53 advantage.
But that was when Detroit's point guards started to dominate. Jackson had 17 points in a 27-5 run that put the Pistons back in front late in the period, setting up Dinwiddie's finish.
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TIP-INS
Bulls: Taj Gibson was a game-time decision due to a left ankle injury, but playing against the depleted Pistons frontcourt turned out to be a good move. Gibson scored eight points in his first 8 minutes, including three straight dunks to start Chicago's second-quarter surge.
Pistons: Drummond was presented with his World Cup championship ring by a Team USA representative in a pregame ceremony. In his first international experience, Drummond was the team's 12th man in Spain last summer, averaging 3.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 5.7 minutes of playing time.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host the Hornets on Monday.
Pistons: Visit the Celtics on Sunday.
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