DeMar DeRozan had 29 points and the host Chicago Bulls handed the Detroit Pistons their eighth consecutive loss, 119-108, on Sunday night.
Nikola Vucevic supplied 21 points, 12 rebounds and four assists, while Zach LaVine had 19 points. Coby White contributed 16 points and seven assists and Ayo Dosunmu tossed in 13 points. Andre Drummond powered for 11 points and 13 rebounds.
The Bulls have won 16 of the last 17 meetings between the Central Division clubs.
Kevin Knox led Detroit with 18 points. Knox was beginning his second stint with the franchise after signing as a free agent Wednesday.
Isaiah Stewart had 17 points and 11 rebounds and Alec Burks scored 16 points. Burks missed the previous six games with a forearm injury.
Marvin Bagley added 14 points and Cade Cunningham was held to a season-low 10 on 4-of-15 shooting from the field.
The Pistons haven’t won since they defeated the Bulls on Oct. 28.
Chicago trailed by nine after the first quarter, then outscored Detroit 33-19 in the second quarter to take a 55-50 halftime lead. DeRozan led the way with 15 points, while Burks paced the Pistons with 12 points and four assists.
Cunningham got in early foul trouble and had just two first-half points on a late second-quarter layup.
DeRozan scored the first five points of the second half to give the Bulls a double-digit lead. The Pistons cut the deficit to 66-64 on a Cunningham layup.
A White jumper with 2:32 left in the quarter pushed Chicago’s lead up to 80-72. The Pistons then finished the quarter with a 9-4 spurt to cut the Bulls’ advantage to three entering the fourth quarter.
DeRozan’s three-point play gave Chicago a 92-87 lead. His elbow jumper with 7:34 remaining increased Chicago’s lead to eight.
LaVine fired in a 3-pointer with 4:14 left to make it 107-98. Vucevic’s 3-pointer with two minutes to go increased the Bulls’ lead to 113-103 and effectively put the game away.
–Field Level Media