Hot-shooting Bulls take down Pistons |
DETROIT—The Chicago Bulls (6-9) must have made the NBA schedule makers very mad, as they have done the Bulls zero favors this season. Not only have the Bulls had to endure one of the toughest schedules in the league thus far, but this team will have four back-to-backs in the month of November alone.
Monday marked the second of those four back-to-backs as the Bulls headed to Little Ceasars Arena in Detroit to take on the Detroit Pistons (7-9), who are off to their best start since 2018. After allowing 287 points in their last two games, both losses, many didn't have a ton of confidence in the Bulls, as the Pistons entered the game with one of the best offenses in the game. Fortunately for Chicago, the Pistons were also on their second leg of a back-to-back, and you could see the fatigue setting in as the game went on. After watching both the Rockets and Cavs shoot the lights out against this team, it was time for the Bulls to return the favor as they shot 48% from the field and 50% (23-46) from distance as the Bulls put an end to their losing streak 122-112. This was one of those games where the Bulls grabbed the lead midway through the first quarter and managed to hold on to that lead before letting it briefly slip away in the fourth. At one point, the Bulls had a double-digit lead in the first half as they came out strong. Credit Nikola Vucevic and Coby White for that, as they combined to go 11-18 from deep and scored the first 16 points for the Bulls. Vucevic looked like a completely different player. He led all scorers with 29 points, shooting 11-18 from the floor and an impressive 6-8 from deep. 13 of those points came in the first quarter, with 12 more coming in the second, as those were the quarters when he did most of his damage. Like Vooch, White had the hot hand most of the game as he had 15 first-half points and 25 total points, sinking five of his 10 shots from deep. Those were two of the four double-digit scorers for the Bulls, with Zach Lavine getting in on the fun with 25 points. Unlike his counterparts, Lavine got off to an extremely slow start and entered the fourth quarter with seven points. Then came the fourth, as Lavine took over the game and put forth his best performance of the season for one quarter. Rounding out the double-digit scorers for the Bulls was Josh Giddy, who came two rebounds shy of a triple-double as he finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Chicago also had eight points from Patrick Williams and Jalen Smith, with Ayo Dosunmu adding nine in an overall strong game. It's amazing what a new voice can do for a team, and JB Bickerstaff has been a refreshing voice that has helped Detroit get off to the best start. Even with the Bulls shooting the lights out for most of the game, the Pistons refused to give up as they managed to battle back from down double digits to tie things up early in the fourth. They would ultimately run out of gas, but there was a lot to like for the second night of their back-to-back. Cade Cunningham got off to a slow start but started to take the game over in the second half, especially in the fourth. He led the Pistons with 26 points and 10 assists. His ability to not only score but also set up his teammates was crucial as Cunningham ran this offense the way it's supposed to look. Malik Beasley wasn't as efficient as he would've liked, going just 5-14 from deep to finish with 21 points as he led the Bulls' second unit. The Pistons also had Tobias Harris finish with 16 points, while Jalen Duran added 15 points with an impressive 22 rebounds. Rounding out the strong performances from the Pistons was Jadne Ivey, who finished with 12 points in the losing effort. Chicago will see the Bucks on Wednesday before closing out the weekend with another back-to-back on Friday and Saturday.
