Jackson's second-half surge powers Pistons past Bulls
AUBURN HILLS, Mich. -- Reggie Jackson scored 24 of his 26 points in the second half and the Detroit Pistons pulled away to a 109-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Monday night at The Palace.
Jon Leuer supplied 16 points, while Tobias Harris and Marcus Morris tossed in 13 points apiece for Detroit (31-32), which pulled even with Chicago in the Eastern Conference standings. Detroit centers Aron Baynes and Andre Drummond were also factors, as the former contributed 12 points and seven rebounds and latter had 12 points and eight rebounds.
The Pistons, who outscored the Bulls 30-16 in the fourth quarter, finished with a 58-32 advantage in points in the paint.
Jimmy Butler led Chicago (31-32) with 27 points, nine rebounds and four assists. Robin Lopez had 18 points and Cameron Payne added 14 for the Bulls.
The Bulls were short-handed in the backcourt without veterans Dwyane Wade and Rajon Rondo. Wade had a left quad strain, while Rondo nursed a right ankle sprain.
The Pistons opened the second half on a 10-4 run to take a 61-59 lead. Chicago answered with an 8-1 spurt. It remained tight the rest of the quarter and the score was tied at 79 heading into the fourth.
The Bulls missed eight of their first nine field-goal tries in the quarter as Detroit steadily took command with a 12-3 run. Jackson made a floater in the lane to give Detroit a seven-point advantage with 6:40 remaining. Drummond followed with a jump hook to make 91-82.
A Jackson three-point play nudged the Pistons' advantage to 94-84. Another Jackson three-point play with 3:13 left made it a 14-point spread, 102-88.
Chicago jumped to an early 14-point lead but the Pistons cut it to 55-51 by halftime. Detroit piled up 37 points in the second quarter -- its highest-scoring second quarter of the season. Butler led the Bulls with 15 points.
NOTES: Pistons PF Tobias Harris reached the 5,000-point mark with a basket in the opening minute of the fourth quarter. ... Chicago is now 5-5 in games that SG Dwyane Wade has missed, though three of those losses occurred when leading scorer Jimmy Butler was also out. ... The Bulls used their 16th different lineup this season. SF Paul Zipser made his fifth start of the season with Wade out. ... PF Henry Ellenson and SG Michael Gbinije were inactive for Detroit. ... The Pistons have won five of their last six home games against Chicago. ... The teams split their first two meetings. They complete the four-game season series at Chicago's United Center on March 22.