Jennings' 28 lead Pistons over Bulls
CHICAGO -- Guard Brandon Jennings first made a name for himself with Milwaukee by churning out some big scoring nights.
Jennings delivered one of those performances for the Detroit Pistons on Saturday night, scoring a season-high 28 points in a 92-75 victory over the Chicago Bulls at the United Center.
While extending their winning streak to four games, the Pistons ended another long streak. They had lost 14 in a row in Chicago.
"He shot the ball well and he made plays when we really needed him to make plays," Detroit coach Maurice Cheeks said of Jennings. "That is what he's capable of evolving to. We need him to play like this and shoot the ball the way he is capable of shooting. He really helped us tonight."
Jennings hit 12 of 22 shots from the field, including five baskets from 3-point range. Heading into this game, Jennings was shooting 38.2 percent from the field overall and less than 35 percent from 3-point range. His previous season high was 28 points in a loss at Portland on Nov. 11.
Forward Kyle Singler added 12 points for Detroit (10-10) and three players grabbed double-digit rebounds, led by center Andre Drummond with 14.
Forward Taj Gibson, starting in place of injured Luol Deng, led Chicago (8-10) with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Forward Mike Dunleavy added 16 points off the bench.
With both sides playing strong interior defense, the difference in the game was 3-point shooting. The Pistons knocked down 12 of 19 shots from behind the arc and Chicago was just 3 of 18.
This was a sluggish, slow-moving game until late in the third quarter when the Pistons suddenly caught fire. During a 14-2 run, four Detroit players knocked down 3-point baskets.
The streak began with a 3-pointer by backup center Josh Harrellson. The Pistons ran the same pick-and-roll play on the next possession, and Jennings kept the ball and drained a 3-pointer. Josh Smith and Singler added baskets from long range to give Detroit a 69-54 lead with 50 seconds left in the third quarter.
"We're getting there," Harrellson said. "We are beating good teams at their places. We're coming together a lot better."
The Bulls never got closer than 11 points in the fourth quarter and dropped to 2-5 since losing guard Derrick Rose to a knee injury.
Chicago shot just 33.3 percent from the field (30 of 90), including 28 percent in the second half.
"There were obviously some stagnant possessions where we were a little out of sorts," Dunleavy said. "But overall, I thought we got some really good looks. They just didn't go down. Obviously, for them from the 3-point arc, they did make theirs and that kind of ended up being the difference."
The score was tied 47-47 at halftime and the Bulls were within 55-52 before Detroit started lighting things up from 3-point range.
"I liked the way we started the game," Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said. "We've got to look at the 3s to figure out how they got those and how we can cover it better. They made some that were defended well, but some were open."
Guard Rodney Stuckey, Detroit's leading scorer, left the game in the second quarter with a sore left knee and did not return.
NOTES: Chicago F Luol Deng missed Saturday's game due to a sore calf. Coach Tom Thibodeau said Deng may have originally been injured when the Bulls played in Detroit on Nov. 27, although Deng had played in three games since then. Deng averaged 27 points, 6.6 rebounds and 6 assists in the previous five games. ... Taj Gibson, usually a power forward, started in Deng's place. Gibson averaged 21.5 points in the previous four games. ... Detroit is hoping to get veteran G Chauncey Billups back soon. He practiced Friday after missing the past three weeks with left knee tendinitis. Billups has played in seven games this season, averaging 5.3 points. ... Thibodeau said G Jimmy Butler is getting closer to returning from a turf toe injury on his right foot. Butler has been out since Nov. 18.
