Joakim Noah stars as Chicago Bulls defeat Detroit Pistons 83 – 71 – NBA Recap
The Chicago Bulls juggernaut does not look like coming to a halt anytime soon. The Bulls have the best record in the NBA this season and even the injury to reigning MVP Derrick Rose hasn’t slowed them down.
On Friday they notched up yet another win, once again without the superstar point guard, against the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons put in a workman like display at the United Center but their best efforts were simply not enough to the raging Bulls, who won
the game 83 – 71.
Joakim Noah took up the mantle in Rose’s absence for this game. Noah had an instrumental role in Chicago’s victory as he recorded a double-double with 19 points and 12 rebounds, while he also handed out 4 assists.
"If we win the rebounding battle, we have a pretty good chance to win the game. Thibs tells us that." Noah said.
Other than Noah, Luol Deng played a big part in Chicago’s success. The forward scored game high 20 points and had 9 rebounds. Carlos Boozer netted 13 with 11 rebounds while C.J. Watson had 11 with 5 assists.
Brandon Knight scored 16 for the Pistons while Greg Monroe and Tayshaun Prince had 14 apiece.
The Pistons were actually stronger at the start, going up 18 – 10 from the opening bell. Noah’s put back started the Bulls response, a 9 – 0 streak that put them up 19 – 18. The home side carried the momentum forward and ended the first quarter on top at
28 – 25.
Chicago completely shut down the Pistons offense in the following segment. Detroit simply didn’t get anything to fall, scoring just 10 points all period. They did though manage to restrict the Bulls to 16, meaning that the damage wasn’t as severe at half
time; Chicago ahead 44 – 35.
The Pistons came out firing after the interval. They looked determined to get back in the game and used a relentless offense to beat back the Bulls. Detroit scored 26 points in the 3rd segment as compared to 21 by the Bulls, and at the end were
breathing down Chicago’s neck; 65 – 61.
Any hope the Pistons might have had of a comeback in the final 12 minutes were washed away by the 8 – 0 bust from Chicago to start the last period. The Pistons put up some resistance afterwards, but Chicago cruised through to get an 83 – 71 win.
Detroit coach Lawrence Frank paid homage to the Bulls after his side’s loss.
"That's why they are the best team in the league. What they do is play for 24 seconds."
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