NBA: Despite Noah, Belinelli return, Pistons thump Bulls

The Detroit Pistons dampened the joy of the Chicago Bulls over the return of two of their rotation players, with a 99-85 thumping, Sunday (Monday, PHL time) at the Palace of Auburn Hills in Detroit, Michigan.

The Pistons snapped a two-game losing streak, to improve to 26-52, while the Bulls had their two-game winning streak broken as well, falling to 42-34. They still occupy the fifth seed in the Eastern Conference, a game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks (42-36), and two back of the Brooklyn Nets (44-32).

Chicago led by as much as 11 points in the first quarter, 18-7, seven minutes in, but the Pistons closed on a 16-5 run to get within a point, 24-23, before a Jimmy Butler make added to the Bulls' buffer, 26-23.

The two sides forged three deadlocks early on in the second, but Charlie Villanueva nailed a triple to put the Pistons up, as it turned out, for good, 33-30, 9:10 into the quarter.

A Joakim Noah jumper at the start of the second half got the Bulls to within a deuce, 50-48, but the Pistons continued to pile onto their advantage, establishing their first double-digit lead, 71-61, 2:01 left renaming in the third via a Greg Monroe lay-up.

Carlos Boozer nailed his own lay-up to end the third period, making it 75-67, but after a Khris Middleton lay-up, less than a minute in, Detroit's lead never went below double-digits, as they hung on to win until the final buzzer.

Brandon Knight posted 20 points and five assists to lead the Pistons, while Jonas Jerebko went 7-of-8 from the floor for 17 points, plus nine rebounds and a steal. Greg Monroe added 11 points, seven rebounds and seven assists from the center position.

Carlos Boozer paced the Bulls with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Nate Robinson poured in 18, while Jimmy Butler scattered 14 markers.

Joakim Noah notched 21 minutes, after missing eight games due to a foot injury, putting up 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. Marco Belinelli's return from an abdominal strain that sidelined him for seven games resulted in no points, as the Italian missed both his shots.

Chicago's bench was outscored 43-12 by the Detroit reserves.

The Pistons were also scorching hot from the field, shooting 53.4 percent, 50.0 percent from downtown, compared to the 45.2 percent clip by the Bulls, just 20.0 percent on triples. - AMD, GMA News