Bulls finally put Pistons away
On a night when Detroit honored Dennis Rodman, who went from Southeast Oklahoma State to a seven-time NBA rebound leader, the Pistons tried to write a modern underdog story on Friday.
The standings say the Bulls are clearly the better team and they seemed to have this game in hand a number of times.
The Pistons kept making it close, though, before the Bulls hung on for a 101-96 victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Coupled with Boston's loss at Atlanta, the Bulls (55-20) now lead Miami by 2 ½ and the Celtics by 3 games for the Eastern Conference lead. Unless there's a three-way tie, the Bulls would have to lose four of their final seven games to finish behind Miami, since they won the season series.
“Destiny is in our hands,” Derrick Rose said. “We're just trying to finish the season strong.”
The Bulls have home games coming up against Toronto, Phoenix and Boston. If they win all three, their magic number for clinching homecourt advantage in the East would be one, no matter what the other contenders do.
“We want to get the highest seed possible,” Carlos Boozer said after the contest. “We've got seven games to get it done. I'm looking forward to playing every game.”
Rose finished with 27 points and 7 assists. Boozer added 22 points, 8 rebounds and matched a season-high with 7 assists. Richard Hamilton scored 30 for the Pistons (26-49).
Center Joakim Noah missed his second straight game with a sprained ankle. Rose turned his left ankle in the third quarter when he stepped on Boozer's foot, but he walked it off and stayed in the game.
The Bulls shot 64 percent in the first half and held a comfortable lead for much of the game.
The Pistons pulled within 3 points three times in the final three minutes.
The Bulls answered in unusual style, with someone besides Rose hitting clutch baskets. While Rose was double-teamed, Boozer went the hoop and completed a 3-point play with 2:21 left. On the next trip, Kurt Thomas grabbed an offensive rebound, then knocked down a jumper off a pass from Kyle Korver.
The halftime ceremony honoring Rodman featured some colorful language, but anyone who enjoyed his three-year run with the Bulls had to appreciate the moment. Rodman said he's been informed he was voted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.
Rodman spent his first seven years with Detroit before moving on to San Antonio and the Bulls. Pistons legend Isiah Thomas looked Rodman in the eye and said, “You'll always be a Piston.”
When he took the microphone, Rodman mentioned the Bulls in passing and said the Bad Boy Pistons who gathered for the event were like his big brothers.
“(Former Pistons general manager) Jack McCloskey took a chance on a kid from Oklahoma who didn't know a (darn) thing about basketball,” Rodman told the crowd. “I said in the papers, ‘I don't think I deserve this.' I should have been here longer.”
After the long halftime ceremony, the Pistons caught the Bulls flat-footed and opened the third quarter with a 15-7 run. Hamilton's 3-point play brought the home team within 65-62 before the Bulls woke up and responded with a 12-0 run. Rose got a technical foul in the middle of that surge, but the free throw was missed.
The Bulls won a couple of honors Friday when Rose and Tom Thibodeau were named Eastern Conference player and coach of the month, respectively, for March.