Sefolosha makes presence felt in win over Pistons
Kirk Hinrich returned Saturday from three games off with back spasms, but fate may keep Thabo Sefolosha in the Bulls' starting lineup.
Sefolosha played a season-high 36 minutes, grabbed a career-high 13 rebounds and helped lead the Bulls to a much-needed 97-81 victory over the Detroit Pistons at the United Center.
The second-year guard from Switzerland may remain in the spotlight because starting point guard Chris Duhon was carried off the court in the fourth quarter after suffering a bruised left knee.
"Hopefully this will put some pressure on the coaching staff to play (Sefolosha) more minutes," said Ben Gordon, who led the Bulls with 33 points.
The Bulls are 3-0 against the Pistons this season and have won six of the last seven regular-season meetings between the longtime rivals.
The game wasn't much of an artistic success, which shouldn't be a surprise. The Bulls (16-23) were playing for the fourth time in five nights, while the Pistons (29-12) seem to have hit their annual January malaise. Detroit is 3-5 in its last eight games. Chauncey Billups scored 27 for the Pistons, while Rasheed Wallace (4 points) was a virtual no-show.
"I don't really care. We got a win," Bulls center Ben Wallace said. "Whether they were in a lull or not playing well, anytime we can get a win right now, I'll take it."
Ben Wallace had a couple of highlights early. He threw down an impressive dunk over Jason Maxiell and drilled a 17-foot baseline jumper.
But then Wallace sat out the entire fourth quarter in favor of rookie Joakim Noah (8 rebounds, 4 points), who played well as the Bulls pulled away early in the fourth. Following the game, Wallace insisted he didn't mind a bit.
"I need it. I'm getting old," he said. "Let's develop these young guys."
In three of their previous five home games, the Bulls lost after holding double-digit leads in the second half.
This one followed that formula to an extent. The Bulls were up 63-50 midway through the third quarter, then watched the Pistons trim the deficit to a single point in just more than three minutes.
Instead of kicking away another close game, though, the Bulls managed to build another lead. Sefolosha opened the fourth quarter with a 3-point basket, then Andres Nocioni (21 points) added a jumper to put the home team ahead 76-67.
During the first 6:22 of the fourth quarter, Detroit went 1-for-10 from the field and scored only on a Maxiell 3-point play. The Bulls pulled out to an 86-70 advantage and never looked back.
Once again, the Bulls will try to build some positive momentum. Seven of their next eight games are against teams with sub-.500 records, beginning Monday afternoon at Memphis.
Coach Jim Boylan will be waiting to see which players are healthy. Luol Deng sat out Saturday's game with a sore left Achilles.
"Having Thabo play the minutes he's played over the last week or two weeks obviously prepares us for something like this happening," Boylan said. "Kirk's back … backs are kind of tricky. We hope for the best for him in Memphis. Hopefully he can play.
"Du, if I had to make a bet right now, I'd probably wager he wouldn't be able to go because when you've got to be carried off the court it's usually pretty significant."