Bulls-Pistons Preview

By JEFF MEZYDLO
Posted Dec 06 2012 12:08PM

The Chicago Bulls have yet to win three straight games overall, but based on their recent history at Detroit, should have a good chance to record a season-high third consecutive road victory.

Looking to continue their overall dominance over the Pistons, the Bulls try for an eighth straight win at The Palace of Auburn Hills on Friday night.

With star Derrick Rose still recovering from a torn ACL, Chicago (9-8) has struggled to consistently string wins together. The Bulls have won four of six but failed to record their first three-game winning streak with Tuesday's 80-76 home loss to Indiana.

Chicago bounced back Wednesday as Marco Belinelli scored a season-high 23 points in place of the injured Richard Hamilton, and Luol Deng added 22 in a 95-85 win at Cleveland. Joakim Noah had 13 points and 15 rebounds as the Bulls won their second straight on the road to improve to 4-3 away from the United Center.

Though the Bulls know they'll need to grind out victories minus Rose and Hamilton (foot) - for at least a week - they've seen progress.

"It takes time, but we're getting there," said Deng, who is averaging 21.5 points on 50.8 percent shooting in the last four games. "We've got a lot of guys who are new to the system."

One of whom is Belinelli, who averaged 5.1 points prior to Wednesday's effort but has a chance to thrive in Hamilton's absence.

"Marco scored in different ways (Wednesday)," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He drove, he got to the line, he was able to catch-and-shoot. Each day, he's playing better."

It would appear the Bulls have a good chance to better themselves Friday against the Pistons (6-14), who've lost 15 straight to Chicago since a 104-98 home win Dec. 23, 2008. This is the Bulls' longest active winning streak against any opponent and the most extensive current slide to one team for the Pistons.

Though Chicago has dominated this series of late, it needed overtime to extend its road winning streak over the Pistons to seven with a 100-94 victory April 15. Noah had 20 points and 17 rebounds.

Detroit has averaged 91.9 points during its home skid versus Chicago. The Bulls have yielded an average of 85.0 and allowed opponents to shoot 40.1 percent over their last six overall. Those trends don't bode well for the Pistons, who have averaged 85.3 points and shot 40.3 percent while losing three of four.

However, it was the Pistons' lack of defense that proved costly Wednesday when their five-game home winning streak ended with a 104-97 loss to Golden State. Detroit gave up 39 points in the third quarter and its starting backcourt of Brandon Knight and rookie Kyle Singler was outscored 49-7 by Warriors guards Klay Thompson and Stephen Curry.

"We knew that Golden State had great shooters on their team, so if you leave them open for a split second, they are going to knock the shot down," said Pistons rookie Andre Drummond, who had 15 points and 12 rebounds. "We let some things slip away and played out of character. Moving forward, we have to nip some of that in bud."

Detroit's Tayshaun Prince had a season-high 24 points but has totaled 11 on 5-of-19 shooting in the last two home games versus Chicago.

Noah's big night leads Bulls over Pistons 108-104

By NOAH TRISTER
Posted Dec 07 2012 11:43PM

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) Joakim Noah was standing near the scorer's table during the first half, visibly upset with his team's performance while he was waiting to check back in.

The Detroit Pistons were outworking his Chicago Bulls - but Noah's big night was only beginning.

"I just felt like our energy was just low, from the start of the game," Noah said. "It's just human reaction, when there's not a lot of people in the stands, to kind of put your guard down. I think we regrouped pretty well."

Noah had 30 points and 23 rebounds, setting career highs in both categories and helping the Bulls beat Detroit for the 16th straight time, 108-104 on Friday night.

"It's crazy to have numbers like that," Noah said. "I knew I was missing a lot of tips in the beginning of the game. In some arenas, they count as rebounds, and some other arenas, they don't. I'm happy they counted."

Chicago trailed by as many as 17 points in the second quarter, but the Bulls rallied toward the end of the half and took control in the fourth.

All five Chicago starters finished in double figures, including Carlos Boozer with 24 points. Luol Deng and Marco Belinelli scored 16 apiece.

Rodney Stuckey led Detroit with 24 points and Brandon Knight added 21. The Pistons had 28 rebounds on the night, only five more than Noah had by himself.

"Noah had a double-double in both halves. That's just flat-out effort," Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. "He had 30 points and 23 rebounds, and they didn't run a single play for him."

Noah's previous career highs were 26 points and 21 rebounds. He said he was motivated by the presence of Ben Wallace, the former Piston who also played for the Bulls when Noah was a rookie.

Wallace was sitting behind one of the baskets Friday night and got a nice hand from the crowd, which was announced at 17,142 but included a significant number of empty seats.

"That's my vet," Noah said. "To have him there, it means a lot. I've learned a lot from him."

The game was tied at 82 in the fourth quarter when Noah rebounded a Chicago miss and made a layup while being fouled. The Pistons were able to hang around after the three-point play, but after they let Noah come up with another offensive rebound that led to a dunk by Boozer, the Bulls were ahead 100-93.

Deng's 3-pointer pushed the lead to 10, and although Detroit cut into the margin during a sloppy final minute, the outcome was never really in doubt.

Noah had 10 offensive rebounds, twice as many as the entire Detroit team. He and Boozer both shot 12 of 19, giving the Bulls enough scoring on a night their defense wasn't all that impressive.

Chicago has been without star point guard Derrick Rose all season after he underwent reconstructive surgery on his left knee. Richard Hamilton has also been out lately with a left foot problem.

Detroit hasn't beaten Chicago since Dec. 23, 2008, but for most of the first half, the Pistons looked primed to end that streak. They led by as many as 17 in the second quarter, shooting 54 percent for the half.

"The second quarter was an abomination," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We gave them pick-and-rolls, we gave them cuts, we were ball watching, lacked awareness."

But Chicago went on a 12-0 run late in the second quarter and trailed 55-50 at the half. The Bulls took a 71-70 lead on a 3-pointer by Kirk Hinrich. Chicago was ahead 78-74 after three.

"It's even more frustrating, because in this streak, they've been holding us around 80 points, with a few games in the 70s. We got 104 tonight, and we still didn't beat them," Detroit's Tayshaun Prince said.

"Our offense was doing great things, but we let down on defense, and when we did get a miss, Noah kept the ball alive. We had 28 rebounds and he had 23, so you can see how well that went."

NOTES: Noah also had six assists. ... Detroit's Greg Monroe had 13 points and five rebounds, barely extending his streak of games with at least five rebounds to 112.

Notebook: Bulls 108, Pistons 104

Dana Gauruder, For NBA.com
Posted Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:27 PM - Updated Fri Dec 07, 2012 11:27 PM

THE FACTS: Chicago center Joakim Noah had a career night, racking up 30 points and 23 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Detroit Pistons for the 16th straight time 108-104 at The Palace on Friday night. Carlos Boozer had 24 points for the Bulls (10-8), who erased a 17-point, first-half deficit. Luol Deng added 16 points and six assists as Chicago captured its fourth victory in five games. Guard Rodney Stuckey led Detroit (6-15), which has dropped four of its last five, with 24 points and seven assists.

QUOTABLE: "I don't think my game changed that much. I'm just more comfortable, knowing where I can be effective and how to get my hooks off. I feel a lot more comfortable shooting the ball, too. I'm just more comfortable on the court and I work hard on my game."

-- Joakim Noah on his offensive explosion

THE STAT: 52.4-51.4. The game matched two of the top five teams in terms of defensive field-goal percentage, but the spectators would have never suspected it. Both teams shot more than 50 percent, with Chicago going 43-for-82 (52.4 percent) and Detroit connecting on 36-for-70 (51.4). The Pistons' percentage was a season high by a Bulls opponent, surpassing the 49.4 percent achieved by Portland on Nov. 18.

TURNING POINT: The Pistons were scoring at will most of the first half against the league's best defense in terms of points allowed. Detroit led 53-36, but Chicago closed the half on a 14-2 run. Noah provided the spark with six points during that stretch, and Kirk Hinrich finished it with four points in the final 40.4 seconds. The Pistons missed all six of their field-goal attempts and committed three turnovers in those four minutes.

QUOTABLE II: "It's in him. He's got to continue to push himself. He can do a lot better than he's doing right now. He's worked at his game, but there's things I still think he can get to that he hasn't gotten to yet."

-- Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau on Noah's offensive game

HOT: Noah shot 12-for-19 from the field and 6-for-7 on free throws. He made a handful of his baskets through his 10 offensive rebounds. His previous career high in points was 26 against Boston on Nov. 5, 2010, and he never had more than 21 rebounds.

NOT: Chicago's bench was a non-factor, as the three subs that Thibodeau used scored a combined nine points on 3-for-11 shooting with one rebound and no assists. That forced four of the starters to play at least 39 minutes.

ROOKIE WATCH: Detroit center Andre Drummond was coming off back-to-back 12-rebound games, but was held to four in this one. He did convert all three of his shots, but starting guard Kyle Singler had just two points and no assists in 24 minutes.

NOTABLE: Four-time Defensive Player of the Year Ben Wallace had a front-row seat along the baseline. Wallace, who played for both franchises, retired after last season. ... The Bulls had a 19-game winning streak against the Pistons during the mid-1990s. Detroit's last victory over Chicago at The Palace was Dec. 23, 2008. ... Bulls starting guard Richard Hamilton missed his third straight game with torn plantar fascia in his left foot. Hamilton said Friday he could be out as long as four weeks. ... Deng (40.9) and Noah (39.5) lead the NBA in minutes per game. ... Pistons center Greg Monroe had 13 points after failing to reach double figures in four of the last five games.

UP NEXT: For the Bulls, Saturday vs. New York, Tuesday vs. L.A. Clippers, Wednesday @ Philadelphia. For the Pistons, Saturday @ Cleveland, Monday @ Philadelphia, Tuesday vs. Denver.

• Bulls: Hamilton, Rose
• Pistons: Kravtsov, Middleton

• Bulls: --
• Pistons: --

• Lead Changes: 8
• Times Tied: 3

• Arena: Palace of Auburn Hills, Detroit, MI
• Officials: #23 Jason Phillips, #58 Josh Tiven, #35 Kane Fitzgerald
• Attendance: 17142
• Duration: 2:19