Bulls put bow on road trip with win over Pistons
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. — Bulls center Kurt Thomas summed up his team's feelings when he yelled in the locker room, “Let's get out of here so we can celebrate Christmas!”
The Bulls were stuck with a three-game, five-day road trip right smack in the middle of holiday season. They'll head home with 2 victories to stuff under the tree, so no one was about to complain about another ugly performance.
This time, the Bulls squandered a 7-point lead in the final 1:16 of the fourth quarter and watched the Detroit Pistons collect 3 offensive rebounds before Charlie Villanueva tied the game on a tip-in with 0.6 seconds on the clock.
Thanks to 2 baskets and an assist from Carlos Boozer in overtime, the Bulls survived to win 95-92 on Sunday at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
“We'll take it,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “I thought our rebounding was great all night until that last one. But I liked how we didn't hang our head in overtime.”
Overtime wasn't a breeze, either. Boozer found Ronnie Brewer for a lay-in to put the Bulls ahead for good at 89-88 with three minutes left. But Detroit pulled within a point twice more.
With the Bulls (19-10) up by 1 and less than 10 seconds left, Pistons guard Rodney Stuckey missed a baseline runner, Derrick Rose tipped the rebound to teammate Luol Deng and eventually Kyle Korver added a pair of free throws with 3.9 seconds left. Villanueva wasn't close on a 3-point heave at the buzzer.
“You can feel the vibe in the room, you can feel the tension,” Rose said after the game. “Everybody's happy.”
Boozer finished with 31 points and 11 rebounds. Rose piled up 23 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. But once again, the Bulls didn't always give their two stars much support. Deng was the team's third-leading scorer with 10 points.
Rose carried the Bulls late in the fourth quarter. He blew past Richard Hamilton for a lay-in, then finished a 1-on-2 fast break to put the Bulls up 83-74 with 3:57 remaining.
The Pistons (10-20) got back within 5 before Rose stole a pass and hit 2 free throws to make it 85-78 with 1:16 left. Tracy McGrady answered with a 3-pointer, then Tayshaun Prince followed his own miss to cut the lead to 2.
After Rose missed a jumper and the Pistons called timeout, Thibodeau saw Detroit's small lineup and sent Brian Scalabrine into the game for Thomas.
It didn't work. McGrady missed a long jumper, Hamilton was off target on a 3-pointer, then misfired on an 18-foot jumper before Villanueva tied the game.
“It was a scramble play. You've just got to find a way to come up with (the rebound),” Thibodeau said. “I have no complaints. I thought we played hard the whole game. Things weren't going our way, we weren't shooting well, but we kept grinding.”
The Bulls did a better job of looking inside during overtime. Boozer scored twice, found Brewer for a lay-in and missed a close look that was tipped in by Thomas.
For the third straight game, the Bulls scored less than 20 points in the fourth quarter. They managed to win twice, though, adding a victory in Washington on Wednesday.
“Lack of energy, I guess and not concentrating and not being focused,” Rose said when asked for an explanation. “I think to win a game in the fourth quarter, everybody's got to be on the same page.”
Mike McGraw's game tracker
Bulls 95, Pistons 92 (OT)
<b>Close call:</b> The Bulls have done this to other teams this season, but almost had the tables turned in Auburn Hills. After holding an 85-78 lead with 1:16 left, the Bulls allowed a tip in by Charlie Villanueva with 0.6 seconds on the clock and had to play overtime.
<b>Another two-man game: </b>Carlos Boozer produced 31 points and 11 rebounds, while Derrick Rose finished with 23 points, 12 rebounds and 8 assists. The team's third-leading scorer, Luol Deng, had just 10 points. Balance is not he Bulls' specialty
<b>Familiar face: </b>Ex-Bulls guard Ben Gordon started for the Pistons, but went to the bench with 8:48 left in the third quarter and never returned. He finished with 7 points in 18 minutes.