Bulls 95, Pistons 82
Derrick Rose put on a second-half show and Carlos Boozer added 27 points as the Chicago Bulls posted a 95-82 victory over the struggling Detroit Pistons on Monday.
Rose scored 17 of his 29 after intermission and added seven assists for the Bulls, who have won 10 straight against the Pistons and 16 of 20 overall.
Appearing to be hung over the first 24 minutes after a 90-79 win over Boston on Saturday, the Bulls came out energized in the second half. They outscored the Pistons 33-15 in third quarter, scoring the last nine points – seven from Rose on two explosive drives and a mid-range jumper – for a 76-70 lead. Rose scored 11, Boozer 9 and Luol Deng 8 in the period.
Rose finished an alley-oop pass with a thunderous dunk early in the fourth quarter and finished 10-of-20 shooting and 9-of-9 from the line as Chicago improved to 17-3 at the United Center.
Detroit led most of the first half after Chicago took an early 12-5 lead and got eight points, including two 3-pointers, in the final two minutes from Austin Daye to take a 55-43 lead into the half.
Tayshaun Prince scored 15 points and Greg Monroe had 10 points and 11 rebounds for his third straight double-double for the Pistons, who dropped their third straight to the Bulls this season and fell to 3-17 on the road.