Mirotic scores season-high as Bulls roll past Pistons
This night seemed to begin with a doom-and-gloom tone, as far as the Chicago Bulls were concerned.
They were coming off a fourth-quarter collapse in Toronto, playing without centers Robin Lopez (suspended) and Cristiano Felicio (back injury) and facing a Detroit Pistons team that could effectively bury the Bulls in the playoff race.
As it turned out, the Bulls thrived in their center-less offense. Playing a "pace and space" style with great ball movement, the Bulls rolled past Detroit 117-95 on Wednesday at the United Center.
The Bulls set a season high with 36 assists and received contributions from a variety of players, led by Nikola Mirotic with a season-high 28 points. Mirotic hit 12 of 15 shots from the field. A few times, he seemed to be showing off, tossing in an improbable baseline runner and then laughing about the fortunate bounce on the rim.
"I think Niko should always be confident," Jimmy Butler said. "You're not going to shoot the ball great every game. Go out there and just play hard, take the shots the defense gives you. Continue to be who you are."
Butler had one of the most efficient games imaginable, posting 16 points and 12 assists on just 6 shots (he made them all). Butler fell to the floor hard after finishing an alley-oop in the second quarter and grabbed his left wrist in apparent agony. But he seemed to be fine when the third quarter began and took an abbreviated run in the fourth.
"We were whipping that ball around," Butler said. "When you're making shots, the offense always looks good."
Replacement center Joffrey Lauvergne chipped in with 17 points and 7 rebounds in his first start for the Bulls. Despite the presence of Pistons center Andre Drummond, the Bulls won points in the paint 58-44.
"When you fight, everything's possible," Lauvergne said. "It was a big surprise when I knew I was going to start, but I knew I was ready."
There is some potential in the Bulls' interchangeable lineup. Using tall guards such as Michael Carter-Williams and Denzel Valentine, along with mobile forwards such as Paul Zipser and Bobby Portis, the Bulls can switch without getting caught in terrible mismatches and seem to function well offensively with similar pieces.
There were fewer screen-and-rolls in this game. The Bulls mostly just spread the floor and took turns attacking the basket, then moving the ball to the open man.
"I thought Niko and Joffrey were a really good pairing out there together," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "I thought we got a lot of good things accomplished with that lineup. When you play unselfishly and you make the right play and trust your teammates the way we did tonight, good things happen."
Of course it helped that for the second time this season, the Pistons barely showed a pulse in a game at the UC. This victory helped the Bulls salvage a 2-2 tie in the season series with Detroit, which could be helpful down the road.
The Bulls (34-38) and Pistons are tied for ninth in the East, 1½ games behind eighth-place Miami. Milwaukee played in Sacramento late Wednesday night and would fall into a tie with the Heat with a loss.
The Bulls have plenty of winnable games among the 10 left on the schedule and get a chance to help themselves by playing the Bucks on Sunday at the Bradley Center.
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