Pistons edged by Bulls, LaVine
CHICAGO (AP) — Zach LaVine scored 37 points and the Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons 105-102 Wednesday night on short notice.
The Bulls were scheduled to visit Charlotte, with the Pistons at Dallas. Those games got called off Tuesday by the NBA because of COVID-19 contact tracing concerns with the Hornets and power outages in Texas. The Bulls and Pistons were then scheduled to play each other, instead.
Chicago made two 3-pointers late in the game to hold off Detroit. Coby White made his shot from the corner to give the Bulls a 100-96 lead with just over a minute left before Patrick Williams knocked down a 3-pointer with 29 seconds remaining to make it 103-98.
LaVine made a free throw to ice the game in the final seconds. He scored 15 points in the third quarter to help Chicago come back from a 25-point, second-quarter deficit.
Wendall Carter Jr. added 18 points while Williams had 15. Chicago won its second straight game overall and fifth in a row against Detroit.
Jerami Grant scored a career-high 43 points for the Pistons, who cooled off after a strong start.
Delon Wright scored 10 of his 12 points in the first half while Dennis Smith Jr. added 10 points off the bench.
Detroit started the second quarter on a 12-0 run and Chicago failed to score until Carter’s follow dunk midway through the period.
Chicago outscored Detroit 27-12 in the third quarter and retook the lead when Garret Temple made a layup with 10 minutes left to make it 74-73.
TIP-INS
Pistons: Detroit scored 11 points off 13 Chicago turnovers … F Sekou Doumbouya missed his third straight game with a concussion.
Bulls: Thad Young added nine points and 10 rebounds off the bench … Otto Porter Jr. missed his eighth straight game. Coach Billy Donovan said he is doing some conditioning but has not done any work on the court. … Lauri Markkanen (shoulder) is still experiencing discomfort in his shoulder.