Lessons continue for Rose

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. - This certainly was an unexpected story line for the Bulls, perhaps proof that Derrick Rose still ranks well below Allen Iverson in the NBA pecking order of star guards.

Before leaving Tuesday night's game with a groin injury, Iverson drew 4 fouls against Rose. Most of the infractions were little bumps or nudges that are sometimes excused by the referees.

"They had to look like fouls, because that's why they called them," Rose said. "It's tough, but I learn from my mistakes."

With Rose limited to just 21 minutes of action before fouling out in the waning seconds, the stage was cleared for the real star of Detroit's backcourt. Second-year pro Rodney Stuckey exploded with a nearly effortless 40 points to lead the Pistons past the Bulls 104-98 on a snowy night in Southeast Michigan.

Stuckey drove to the basket and knocked down jumpers equally well, hitting 15 of 24 shots from the field.

"He just took advantage of our lack of defense," Bulls guard Ben Gordon said. "You've got to give him a lot of credit, though. He came in and controlled the game start to finish."

Gordon and Andres Nocioni, who each scored 18 points, also fouled out. The Bulls' trimmed a 19-point deficit down to 1 in the third quarter, but Rose, Gordon and Nocioni all went to the bench with 4 fouls before the quarter was halfway over.

Following the game, in the tunnel outside the locker room, Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro was unusually fidgety and agitated as the Bulls (13-15) failed to reach .500 for the fourth time in 11 days and fell to 3-12 on the road.

"I thought we missed an opportunity," Del Negro said. "We've got to get a little smarter at times. We've got to dig down and find ways on the road.

"We're digging ourselves too big a hole (in the first quarter) and having to spend a lot of energy getting back in the game. We made a run, just couldn't stay out of foul trouble."

Iverson helped create interference by causing the foul trouble but finished the night going 0-for-7 from the field for 5 points, one of few times in his career he failed to record a field goal.

In the first half, anyway, these were the old Eastern Conference power Pistons the Bulls remember very well, not the "What are we supposed to do with Allen Iverson" Pistons who had lost two in a row. The home team jumped to an early 17-4 lead and never trailed.

Besides Stuckey's 40 points, the biggest difference on the score sheet was offensive rebounds, with Detroit building a 25-12 edge in second-chance points.

One typical sequence for the Bulls came early in the fourth quarter. Trailing by 7, Larry Hughes (19 points) had a 3-pointer rim out, then on the other end the Pistons grabbed 4 offensive boards before Richard Hamilton put in a layup and converted a 3-point play.

The Bulls closed within 6 points twice midway though the fourth quarter but couldn't respond with a defensive stop. They finally cut the lead to 4 points with just 7.6 seconds remaining.

In another example of Bulls frustration, Hughes buried a half-court shot at the end of the first quarter but released it just after the buzzer. In the second quarter, Detroit's Tayshaun Prince let go of a floater with 0.1 seconds on the clock that put the home team up by 13 at intermission.