Detroit Pistons pull away in second half for a change, win at Chicago Bulls, 105-95
A night prior, the Detroit Pistons were robbed of a win in New York.
On Tuesday in Chicago, there was no question the outcome.
The Pistons outscored the Bulls by 15 in the second half, thanks to a big performance by Cade Cunningham, to defeat the Central Division rival for the second time this season, 105-95. It's the Pistons' ninth win of the season, tying the Washington Wizards (9-49) for the NBA's worst record.
Cunningham scored 26 points on 9-for-13 shooting to go with five rebounds and five assists. Simone Fontecchio added 17 points off of the bench, knocking down five of his nine attempts from 3. Jaden Ivey (15 points, five assists), Jalen Duren (14 points, 10 rebounds, five assists) and Ausar Thompson (13 points, eight rebounds, three assists) also reached double-figures.
The Bulls shot 2-for-29 (6.9%) from 3, while the Pistons shot 49.3% overall and 37.8% from 3. Isaiah Stewart returned from an 11-game absence due to an ankle sprain and three-game suspension, and finished with 11 points and nine rebounds.
Stewart returns, starts
The fourth-year big man injured his ankle on Jan. 28, and returned to a significantly-altered roster. It was Stewart’s first time taking the floor with a roster including Simone Fontecchio, Quentin Grimes, Troy Brown Jr., Shake Milton, Evan Fournier and Malachi Flynn. For the most part, his role remained the same.
Stewart resumed his place in the starting lineup, moving Fontecchio to the bench, and made winning plays in the second half. He began the game cold, missing his first four attempts from 3 before making two in the third quarter — the first tying the game at 59, and the second giving Detroit a 64-61 lead, its first since late in the opening quarter.
The Bulls helped off of Stewart and Ausar Thompson, cramping Detroit’s spacing compared to their previous starting unit with Fontecchio. Stewart, despite shooting a career-high 37.4% from 3 this season, has yet to command respect from behind-the-line. He was able to shoot himself into a rhythm Tuesday, and helped the Pistons gain control of the game for good in the third period.
Stewart later came up with a key offensive rebound, batting a missed jumper at the buzzer by Duren to Cunningham, who drew a foul while shooting a 3-pointer and made all three to give the Pistons a seven-point lead, 95-88, with 5:38 to play.
Fontecchio lifts Pistons in fourth
Even though he lost his spot in the starting lineup, Fontecchio was as essential as any player in the first unit. He scored 11 of his 17 points in the fourth period, keeping the Pistons’ second unit afloat as Cunningham took a long rest after playing most of the third quarter. His 3-pointer at the 10:49 mark gave the Pistons the lead for good, 82-80, and sparked their win-clinching 22-10 run.
Fontecchio remained on the floor even as the starters began checking back in, playing an extended stretch alongside Cunningham, Ivey, Stewart and Duren before he was replaced by Thompson. The Italian forward later grabbed a missed shot from Malachi Flynn and laid it in, and knocked down his final 3-pointer with under seven minutes left to push Detroit’s lead back to four, 92-88.
Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him @omarisankofa.
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This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons pull away in second half, beat Chicago Bulls, 105-95