DETROIT — Laurie Markkanen had 16 points and eight rebounds and the Chicago Bulls used a strong defensive performance for a 100-86 win over the Detroit Pistons on Sunday night.
Zach LaVine scored 18 points for the Bulls, who had lost two straight. Daniel Galford added eight points and 11 rebounds as Chicago held Detroit to 16% shooting (4 for 25) on 3-pointers.
Jerami Grant scored 26 points for the Pistons, who had won two straight. Rookie Saddiq Bey, who averaged 24.0 points in Detroit’s wins over the Toronto Raptors and Houston Rockets. didn’t score until hitting a meaningless 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Bulls trailed for most of the first half, but used a late run to take a 46-45 lead. Chicago shot 60% on 3-pointers while holding the Pistons to 20%.
Chicago expanded the lead to 11 points in the first five minutes of the third quarter and continued to shut down Detroit’s outside shooting. The Pistons went 1 for 8 in the quarter, falling to 16.7% for the game.
The Bulls led 75-65 going into the fourth quarter and expanded their lead to 19 points on Denzel Valentine’s 3-pointer with 6:51 to play. That kept Chicago coach Billy Donovan from pushing his starters too hard on the front end of a back-to-back.
TIP-INS
Bulls: Chicago has won six straight games against the Pistons, including a 4-0 season sweep in 2019-20. The streak has let the Bulls move into a 135-133 lead in the all-time series, which peaked 30 years ago with Michael Jordan’s teams against the Bad Boys.
Pistons: Grant, who had a career-high 43 in Chicago in a 105-102 loss on Feb. 17, scored 14 points in the first quarter on Sunday, and finished with 26.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Return home to host the Utah Jazz on Monday.
Pistons: Travel to Indianapolis to play the Pacers during a break in the NCAA tournament.
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