Jalen Duren had 26 points and 13 rebounds in his return from a suspension to help the Detroit Pistons take charge in the second half and roll to a 126-110 victory over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night at the United Center.
Cade Cunningham added 18 points, 13 assists and nine rebounds to narrowly miss his 15th career triple-double as the Pistons won their fifth straight game. Tobias Harris also had 18 points and Duncan Robinson added 17 for the league-leading Pistons (42-13), which dealt the Bulls their season-high eighth straight loss and 11th in 12 games.
Duren helped establish the Pistons’ dominance after sitting out two games for his role in a fight at Charlotte on Feb. 9. He got a technical foul in this one for casually dropping the ball on the face of the Bulls’ Nick Richards in the third quarter while Richards was down on the floor.
Josh Giddey scored 27 points on 10-for-16 shooting — including five 3-pointers — but the Bulls couldn’t keep pace with the Pistons after trailing only 53-50 at the half. Matas Buzelis, Jalen Smith and Issac Okoro each added 15 as the Bulls committed 23 turnovers leading to 28 Pistons points.
The Pistons outmuscled the Bulls, scoring 68 points in the paint compared with the Bulls’ 38. The Pistons had 26 on second chances and the Bulls just 16.
The Bulls played without Jaden Ivey, who will be out at least two weeks with knee soreness after playing just four games with his new team following a trade from Detroit. Anfernee Simons left the game with a left wrist injury.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan was back on the bench after missing a game to attend his father’s funeral.
The Pistons led by no more than six points in a tight, scrappy first half. They outscored the Bulls 44-26 in third quarter and opened the lead to as much as 28.
Up next
Bulls: vs. New York Knicks on Sunday.
Pistons: vs. San Antonio Spurs on Monday.