Nikola Vucevic scored 29 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to help the Chicago Bulls beat the Detroit Pistons 122-112 on Monday night.
Zach LaVine and Coby White each added 25 points for the Bulls. Josh Giddey came close to a triple-double with 11 points, 10 assists, and 8 rebounds.
Chicago had given up 144 and 143 points in their previous two losses, but on Monday, they played much better defense. The Bulls held the Pistons to 42.9% shooting from the field and 34.1% from beyond the arc. Chicago shot 48.4% from the floor and made half of their 46 three-point attempts.
Cade Cunningham led Detroit with 26 points and 10 assists. Malik Beasley scored 21 points off the bench, while Jalen Duren had 15 points and 22 rebounds. Tobias Harris added 16 points, and Jaden Ivey chipped in 12.
Vucevic helped the Bulls take a 36-25 lead after the first quarter, scoring 13 points in the period. He also made the last basket of the first half, giving Chicago a 65-57 advantage at the break.
Vucevic had 17 points at halftime, and White had 13. Beasley and Harris led Detroit at the half with 10 points each.
Detroit started the second half strong, scoring the first six points, but the Bulls answered with a 7-0 run. Chicago pushed their lead to 10, but Cunningham hit two straight three-pointers to cut the deficit. By the end of the third quarter, the Bulls led 93-85.
In the fourth, the Pistons quickly pulled even, going on a 10-2 run. But Chicago responded with a 13-2 run of their own. Giddey made a layup and a dunk, and LaVine hit three three-pointers during the stretch.
The Pistons got within eight points twice in the final minutes, but LaVine answered each time with a three-pointer. His second three-pointer, with 1:45 left, put the Bulls ahead 120-107.
This was the first of four meetings between the two Central Division teams. The remaining three games will be played in February.
