NBA: Pistons complete back-to-back sweep of Bulls
Cade Cunningham, heading into his first All-Star appearance, poured in 29 points and handed out seven assists as the visiting Detroit Pistons defeated the Chicago Bulls for the second straight night, prevailing 128-110 on Wednesday.
Ausar Thompson and Tobias Harris had 19 points apiece for the Pistons, while Jalen Duren racked up 16 points, 14 rebounds and five assists.
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Malik Beasley added 14 points and Isaiah Stewart chipped in 12 as Detroit won its fourth straight game. With a 29-26 record, the Pistons will enter the All-Star break with a winning record for the first time since 2009.
READ: NBA: Pistons lead by as high 49, embarrass Bulls
Ayo Dosunmu led the Bulls with 23 points and six assists. Nikola Vucevic recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds, while Josh Giddey contributed 17 points.
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Chicago forward Patrick Williams left the game in the third quarter due to a right knee injury.
The Pistons romped to a 132-92 victory in Chicago on Tuesday after establishing a franchise-record 42-point halftime lead.
The rematch was different. Neither team had a lead of bigger than seven points before halftime.
READ: NBA: Pistons emerging as a serious surprise story this season
The Pistons, who finished the half on a 9-2 run, had four players in double figures while taking a 66-59 lead into the break. Harris had 14 points and Cunningham scored 13. Dosunmu paced the Bulls with 16 first-half points, and Vucevic tossed in 15.
Detroit scored the first five points of the second half to stretch its lead to 12. Following a Vucevic putback, the Pistons scored the next 11 points to make it a 16-2 run. Cunningham had a three-play during that span and finished it off with two more baskets.
Detroit maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the quarter, entering the fourth with a 96-82 advantage.
Giddey made a 3-pointer with 7:13 remaining to pull Chicago within 108-97. Dennis Schroder, acquired by the Pistons in a multi-team trade last week, scored the next five points to push the lead to 16.
A couple of Beasley 3-pointers made it 119-100, and the Bulls couldn’t get closer than 10 the rest of the way. –Field Level Media