Bulls overwhelm punchless Pistons
1/10/2012CHICAGO -- Carlos Boozer scored 23 points, and the Chicago Bulls beat Detroit 92-68 on Monday night for their 13th consecutive victory against the Pistons.
Derrick Rose added 22 points and eight assists for Chicago, which bounced back from Saturday night's lackluster 109-94 loss at Atlanta. Ronnie Brewer finished with 12 points, and Boozer also had eight rebounds.
The Bulls improved to 4-1 during their first stretch of nine games in 12 days in 30 years. They play again each of the next two nights, hitting the road to face Minnesota on Tuesday before returning home to face Washington on Wednesday.
Greg Monroe had 14 points, 10 rebounds, and six assists for Detroit, which has lost four straight games. Rookie Brandon Knight scored 13 points, and Tayshaun Prince and Ben Gordon had 11 points apiece.
Chicago led 68-59 after three and put the game away with an 18-3 run to begin the fourth quarter. Rose had a jumper and an emphatic dunk during the surge.
The big fourth-quarter run led to chants for seldom-used reserve Brian Scalabrine from the United Center crowd. He entered with 2:43 left, and his fadeaway jumper with 14.6 seconds remaining led to wild ovation and delighted the Bulls' bench.
Detroit closed the first quarter with a 9-0 run to tie it at 21, but the Bulls responded with a 9-0 run of their own. Kyle Korver capped the surge with a 3-pointer after Pistons forward Jonas Jerebko left him open on the wing.
Chicago held Detroit scoreless for the first 5:52 of the second. The Pistons missed their first eight shots of the quarter.