No sweeping success for Bulls
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- The story line has changed dramatically since the last few times the Bulls visited Metro Detroit.
Since the start of last season, every trip to the Palace was focused around Ben Wallace's return to where he enjoyed six successful seasons. Sunday, the Bulls arrived without him, thanks to a Feb. 21 trade to Cleveland.
"It's kind of odd," Detroit guard Richard Hamilton said. "It's crazy, because he's like our brother. He did so many positive things, for him not to be on our team and now to see him in Cleveland, it's kind of crazy."
The Bulls had a chance to complete a 4-0 season sweep of the Pistons, owners of the NBA's second-best record, but couldn't box out or muster up much of a defensive effort. The Bulls were within a point midway through the fourth quarter but faded late and suffered a 116-109 loss.
"Until our defense picks up, it is going to be a struggle for us," coach Jim Boylan said. "I thought we had so many breakdowns. They were able to drive by us pretty much at will."
Pistons forward Rasheed Wallace sat out with an ankle injury, creating room on the floor for the much more energetic and physical Jason Maxiell.
It probably was no coincidence the Bulls got beat up on the boards. Detroit finished with a 24-16 advantage in second-chance points and a 15-10 edge in offensive rebounds.
Maxiell does a nice imitation of a bull in a china shop, with the actual Bulls playing the role of the china; he had 8 points and 8 boards. Ancient center Theo Ratliff, recently released by Minnesota, chipped in 10 points and 3 blocks.
"Their bigs did what they have to do," said Bulls center Joakim Noah, who had 15 points and 5 rebounds. "They crashed the boards hard. They're not asking Maxiell to catch it in the post and do like 10,000 moves or anything like that. He did his job and he did it really well today."
The Bulls (25-38) also had plenty of trouble guarding Pistons guard Chauncey Billups, who scored 34 points and hit 9 of 12 shots. Richard Hamilton added 23 points and Tayshaun Prince 21.
Ben Gordon hit 10 of 12 shots from the field and led the Bulls with 27 points, while Luol Deng added 21.
Deng's baseline spin and layup made it 93-92 with 7:16 left. The Pistons then split a pair of free throws, giving the Bulls a chance to tie. But Noah missed a shot in the post and Detroit scored on its next six possessions to go ahead 107-99 with 3:17 remaining.
For the second straight game, the Bulls struggled early with referee relations. The Pistons went to the foul line on three of their first four possessions and shot 9 free throws in the first six minutes, while both Kirk Hinrich and Gordon were on the bench with 2 fouls.
The free throws eventually evened out, but the Bulls' guards lost considerable playing time. Hinrich got his fourth foul with 7:29 left in the third quarter and never returned.
"I feel like I'm a rookie again," said Hinrich, who scored 6 points in 18 minutes. "I guess I just have to be more careful out there. That's pretty much all I'm trying to do is not pick up fouls and I still do."