NBA Game Summary - Chicago at Detroit

03.8.2006

Auburn Hills, MI (Basketball News) - Chauncey Billups scored 27 points and dished out nine assists as the Detroit Pistons secured a playoff berth with a 106-101 win over the Chicago Bulls at the Palace of Auburn Hills.

Rasheed Wallace added 25 points for the Pistons, who won their 13th straight home game to improve to an amazing 27-2 at home. Richard Hamilton donated 24 points and six assists.

Ben Gordon netted 28 points with six boards for the Bulls, who have lost 15 of their last 17 games against Detroit. Andres Nocioni added 23 points and nine rebounds in the loss.

Chicago came close to taking the lead down the stretch in the fourth, but the Pistons kept the Bulls at bay.

A Nocioni dunk made it a 100-97 deficit with 1:28 left, but Billups countered with a jumper. Gordon’s layup again made it a three-point game and Nocioni added a pair of free throws for a 102-101 game with 41 seconds left.

However, Wallace hit four free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Detroit controlled the early part of the fourth, extending to 87-80 after a Wallace jumper with 6:41 left. Chicago, though, got to within 90-86 after Nocioni’s layup with over five minutes left.

The Pistons went back up by eight at 94-86 with 4:04 remaining, but the Bulls used a 6-1 spurt that featured three-pointers from Kirk Hinrich and Nocioni to cut the deficit to 95-92 with 2:25 remaining.

Tied at 15-15 with 5:54 left in the first, the Bulls closed out the frame on a 9-2 spurt to take a 24-17 lead into the second frame. Chicago maintained its lead throughout the second stanza and led 48-41 at the break.

The Pistons, however, took the lead in the third. Down 51-46, a Hamilton free throw and a jumper by Billups cut it to 51-49. Gordon responded with a jumper for Chicago, but the Pistons netted the next four points to go ahead 54-53 with 6:43 left.

The teams traded leads the rest of the frame and Detroit held a 68-64 edge after three. The Pistons then opened up the fourth with four straight points to go ahead eight at 72-64.

Tayshaun Prince added 10 points in the win...Hinrich finished with 11 points and five assists...The Bulls had won two of their last three coming into the game...Detroit improved to 23-1 when scoring at least 100 points...The Pistons used the same starting lineup in every game this season (60 games)... The Bulls shot 53.5 percent from the floor to the Pistons’ 43.8 percent. However, the Bulls turned the ball over 17 times.

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