Paul Reed piled up 28 points, 13 rebounds, six assists and four steals as the depleted Detroit Pistons won their eighth straight game, knocking off the visiting Chicago Bulls 124-113 on Wednesday.
Duncan Robinson contributed 23 points for Detroit, while Daniss Jenkins supplied 18 points and 12 assists. Caris LeVert added 17 points.
Matas Buzelis led Chicago, which has lost four straight, with 21 points and 14 rebounds. Kevin Huerter amassed 20 points, Isaac Okoro had 15 points, and Ayo Dosunmu added 12.
The Pistons sat out most of their regulars, including reigning Eastern Conference Player of the Week Cade Cunningham. Just two nights after scoring a career-high 46 points against the Washington Wizards, Cunningham was sidelined by a hip contusion. Usual starters Jalen Duren, Tobias Harris and Ausar Thompson missed the game due to ankle injuries, as did key reserve Isaiah Stewart.
Chicago’s leading scorer, Josh Giddey, missed his second consecutive game due to an ankle sprain.
Chicago finished the third quarter with a 10-3 run, slicing what had been a 23-point Detroit lead to 16 entering the fourth.
The Bulls then scored the first 11 points of the final period. Huerter capped that spurt with a layup.
When Okoro made two free throws with 8:26 left, the Pistons’ lead was down to one. Reed answered with a three-point play.
Robinson’s 3-pointer with 4:34 left pushed Detroit’s lead to 111-102. Robinson made another with 3:11 left for a 118-106 advantage.
Detroit shot 60.5% from the field in the first half while racing to a 68-52 lead.
Chicago cut the deficit to eight in the first three minutes of the second half. A couple of Reed dunks helped Detroit nudge the lead back to 12 points.
An Okoro layup midway through the third quarter pulled the Bulls within 78-69. The Pistons then ran off 14 unanswered points. LeVert had a layup and two dunks during that span and also set up Bobi Klintman for a 3-pointer.
Reed finished it off with a three-point play to make it 92-69.
–Field Level Media
