One night after snapping a long losing streak to New Jersey, Chicago will try to end another streak in Detroit when the Bulls take on the Pistons (6:30 p.m. CT | CSN/ESPN Radio 1000). Detroit is seeking its 13th consecutive home victory. Looking to avoid being swept by the Pistons this season, Chicago (27-33) has split its last six contests and is 2 1/2 games behind Milwaukee for the final Eastern Conference playoff spot. The Bulls snapped an eight-game losing streak against the New Jersey Nets with Tuesday's 95-87 victory. Andres Nocioni scored a career-high 24 points off the bench and Kirk Hinrich and Luol Deng added 22 apiece in the triumph. Back home after dropping two of their last three road games, the Pistons (48-11) have had some time to regroup. Detroit has the league's best record and has taken 26 of its 28 home games. The Pistons have lost consecutive games just once this season and are third in the league in points allowed (89.5), trailing Memphis and San Antonio. However, the Pistons failed to hold a seven-point halftime lead in Saturday's 105-94 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers. Chauncey Billups scored 24 points with 10 assists and Richard Hamilton added 20 as Detroit capped a four-game road trip at 2-2. Detroit has taken 13 of the last 15 encounters against Chicago, limiting the Bulls to an average of 82.7 points in three meetings this season. Billups scored 17 points with 12 assists for the Pistons in a 95-87 victory in their last match up Feb. 24. Tune in to watch this evening's game on Comcast SportsNet Chicago or listen to it on ESPN Radio 1000 (both pregame shows at 6:00). Visit Bulls.com or click here now for a complete preview of this evening's contest. Probable Bulls Starters Guard 12 Kirk Hinrich 6-3 | 190 Guard 7 Ben Gordon 6-3 | 200 Forward 9 Luol Deng 6-9 | 220 Forward 35 Malik Allen 6-10 | 255 Center 3 Tyson Chandler 7-1 | 235 Probable Pistons Starters Guard 1 Chauncey Billups 6-3 | 202 Guard 32 Richard Hamilton 6-7 | 193 Forward 22 Tayshaun Prince 6-9 | 215 Forward 36 Rasheed Wallace 6-11 | 230 Center 3 Ben Wallace 6-9 | 240 Injury Report Bulls Chicago has no injuries to report. For a full report and the latest on Bulls' injuries, check out the AthletiCo Injury Report at Bulls.com. Pistons Kelvin Cato (sprained right ankle) is out. Series Notes The Bulls have dropped 13 of the last 15 meetings with the Pistons, including 12-straight in Chicago ...Chicago won 18 straight at the United Center from the 1990.91 season to the 1997.98 season, but is just 2-16 in the series in the past five seasons ... the last Bulls win in Chicago was a 98-92 victory on Jan. 22, 2000 ... Chicago won both meetings in Detroit last season, sweeping the Pistons at the Palace for the first time since the 1995.96 season ... Chicago has not won the season series with Detroit since going 3-1 against the Pistons in the 1997.98 season.
We played with them the first half, but we need to keep up the intensity for the second half. We didn’t do that against Cleveland a few nights ago, and they ended up blowing us out. You know the Pistons going to come out on fire we need to do the same.
I am afraid to ask what happened in the end. Down by one and we turn it over and then down by 3 we obviously missed a shot.
He thought Darius was standing there, but he was back at the top of the key. Then Wallace? I think block Noc on his 3 point attempt to tie the game.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">[IMGR]http://www.nba.com/media/Billups-Recap300.jpg[/IMGR]Chauncey Billups and the Detroit Pistons played through their early struggles to finish perfect against the Chicago Bulls. Billups scored 27 points, Rasheed Wallace added 25 and Richard Hamilton 24 as the Pistons won their 13th straight home game with a 106-101 victory over the Bulls. Behind the efforts of All-Stars Billups, Wallace and Hamilton, the Pistons completed a four-game sweep of the season series with the Bulls, whom they have defeated in 14 of the last 16 meetings. It was not easy as Detroit found itself in a 48-41 hole at the break due to 35 percent (16-of-46) shooting. "We struggled a lot offensively in the first half," Billups said. "They were just outplaying us. They played tougher and harder and that's not what we're about. Thankfully, we got it going in the third quarter. I hit some shots and some other guys stepped up and hit some shots. That kinda woke us up a little bit." "I thought we had terrible energy, terrible passion in the first half," Pistons coach Flip Saunders said. "We just seemed very disinterested." After pulling even in the third quarter and temporarily grabbing the lead, the Pistons took the lead for good when Billups sank three foul shots for a 65-63 advantage. That ignited a 13-2 burst which extended into the final period. Billups scored eight points in the surge, and Hamilton's 3-pointer capped it at 75-65 with 10:45 left. The Bulls crept within 100-97 on Andres Nocioni's dunk with 1:28 remaining. After a jumper by Billups was answered by Ben Gordon's basket, Nocioni netted two foul shots with 41 seconds to go, making it 102-101. Chicago had a chance to take the lead, but Wallace stole the ball from Gordon and sank two free throws with 15 ticks left. On the ensuing possession, Ben Wallace blocked Nocioni's potential tying 3-pointer, and Rasheed Wallace drained two more foul shots to secure the win. "It was a crazy game, but we didn't panic," said Hamilton, who scored 14 points in the fourth quarter. "We just stayed with it and things started to happen. We've won a lot of games this year. We know the main thing is to get the win." The teams combined for 75 points in the fourth quarter, uncharacteristic for a pair of squads that rely on defense. "It was surprising," Billups said. "It was up-tempo, up and down. It was kind of fun but it was a shootout." Losing a lead in the second half was all too familiar for Chicago coach Scott Skiles. "I'm happy that we played hard, but that should be a given," Skiles said. "We need to learn from these experiences and make progress. We've had too many times this year when we've come out in the third quarter and haven't been as sharp. It happened again tonight. I can't fault anybody's effort. Our guys fought right to the end, but at this level, there are no moral victories. It's a game we should have won." "We kind of beat ourselves," said Kirk Hinrich, who had 11 points and five assists. "We didn't get key rebounds and we turned it over a bunch of times in the second half. A team like Detroit makes you pay for that. I think we're all disappointed. We wanted to win this game and felt like we should have won it. We just have to continue to play this way and hopefully, be playing in the postseason." The tenacity of the Bulls impressed the Pistons. "They're a scrappy team as far as just doing the little things to stay in the game," said Pistons forward Tayshaun Prince, who grabbed a key offensive rebound down the stretch and fed Hamilton for a basket. "They shot the ball well from the perimeter all night," he continued. "It was a tough loss for them because they shot well all night - from two and three - outrebounded us and still lost the game." Billups made 4-of-5 shots from behind the arc and handed out nine assists. Ben Wallace had 11 rebounds and four steals. Gordon scored 28 points and Nocioni added 23 for Chicago, which has alternated wins and losses in its last six games.</div> <div align="center"> Recap l Box Score</div>
