Pistons 94, Bulls 90
CHICAGO -- Reggie Jackson had 22 points and Tobias Harris had 21 to lead the Detroit Pistons, who got double-figures scoring from all five starters, to a 94-90 win against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night at the United Center.
Harris' put-back with 49.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter put the Pistons up 88-83. Jackson hit two clutch free-throws with 20.4 seconds left to help Detroit (41-36) secure its third win in four games against Chicago (38-38) this season.
Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 28 points and recorded the first triple-double of his career with career-highs in rebounds (17) and assists (12).
The Pistons stayed a half-game ahead of the Indiana Pacers (40-36), who defeated the Philadelphia 76ers to keep their hold of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Chicago, which played without starters Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson, trails Indiana by two games and the Pistons by 2 1/2 games.
Harris also finished with seven rebounds and four assists for Detroit, which got double-figures scoring from Marcus Morris (16 points), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (13 points) and Andre Drummond (11 points and 11 rebounds).
Pau Gasol had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls, who got 14 points off the bench from Aaron Brooks. Chicago and Detroit each have six games remaining.
The game was tightly-contested from start to finish. Neither team held a double-digit lead, there were 15 lead changes and 13 ties.
Detroit led 46-45 at halftime, after a first half in which neither team led by more than six. The Bulls went up 20-14 in the first quarter on E'Twaun Moore's 3-pointer with 5:10 left, but Detroit responded by taking its biggest lead, 37-33, on Anthony Tolliver's 3 with 8:36 left in the second.
The Pistons would've led by more at the break if they'd shot better from the free-throw line, hitting just five of 12 free throws in the first half (41.7 percent) on the way to a 10 of 20 performance for the game.
NOTES: Bulls PG Derrick Rose (left elbow) didn't play after missing the second half of Chicago's 103-100 win at the Houston Rockets on Thursday. Rose injured the elbow in a fall against the Atlanta Hawks on March 28 and further agitated it during the Bulls' 98-96 win at the Indians Pacers the next day. He played the first half against Houston using only his right arm. "Every day it's getting better," Rose said. "I'm able to push off a little bit more, but as far as right now it's still real tender." Rose has missed 12 games this season with six different injuries. "Reality is I've got to deal with my injury," Rose said. "I fell on the floor. I'm going to fall here and there, going to have injuries. [I've] just got to try to get through that and get back on the floor." ... Chicago PF Taj Gibson (rib contusion) was reassessed prior to the game against the Pistons, but didn't play. Gibson missed his second straight game. His spot was filled by rookie F Bobby Portis, who made his second start.