Uncertain before the match due to back pain, Zach LaVine was finally in good shape against the Pistons. And the Chicago guard doesn’t seem too bothered… as he scores 19 points in the first quarter!
The problem is that he is the only one to fuel the score on the Bulls side, against the Detroit collective. The Pistons are thus in front (29-26) after 12 minutes and they continue to increase the gap in the second quarter, behind a Cade Cunningham who zigzags in the defense and the impact of Alec Burks and Marvin Bagley III to end the half.
Chicago is already relegated 13 lengths (57-44) at the break but Zach LaVine will resume his work.
The guard this time scored 20 points in the third quarter and allowed Chicago to believe in it again. At the start of the final straight, the gap fell below ten points (84-77).
Except that unlike the day before against the Raptors, the Bulls do not have the legs to come back. Zach LaVine, however, continues to string together baskets to beat his career record and finish with 51 points (19/33 shooting including 7/13 from afar) but the enthusiasm of the young Pistons, led by Jalen Duren, will end up winning Bulls.
Logical victory for Detroit (118-102), the second in three games, and it has been a long time since we have seen the local audience at the Little Caesars Arena get so excited…
WHAT YOU MUST REMEMBER
– Zach LaVine’s career high. The back is a pure scorer and when he’s hot, it gives evenings like this, where he doesn’t need a lot of shifts to shine. The problem is that his career record does not allow Chicago to win, since he scored half of his team’s points (51 out of 102) and all his teammates seemed out of rhythm. The effect of overtime against Toronto?
– The Detroit Collective. We’re not going to get fired up after three games but there is an exciting energy among these Pistons. The Cade Cunningham – Jalen Duren duo already seems to be a solid building base, the swerving of the first matching well with the more frontal impact of the second. And around, Isaiah Stewart, Alec Burks, Marvin Bagley III and rookie Ausar Thompson also brought good things, like Killian Hayes.
TOPS/FLOPS
✅ Cade Cunningham and Jalen Duren. We put them together because it was their duo that really hurt the Bulls. 25 points at 9/19 and 10 assists (but 6 ball losses) for the leader, who tormented the Chicago defenders with his feints, his changes of pace and his constant slaloms. 23 points at 9/11, 15 rebounds (including 6 offensive), 5 assists and 2 blocks for the interior, who made his opponents feel his physical impact, but above all who shows that he is not just a brute who dunks, finding very good shifts with the ball in hand.
✅ Ausar Thompson. His stat line (9 points at 3/7, 12 rebounds and 5 assists) is interesting, but the rookie is even more so. As Monty Williams explains, it’s “difficult to explain all the winning actions he makes” in the field. An interception that comes out of nowhere, a counter, a complicated pass that takes the defense from behind… Ausar Thompson weighs overall, and that does a lot of good for Detroit.
⛔ Bulls energy. Certainly, they were back-to-back (Detroit too…) and they had played overtime the day before, after a particularly trying match, but Billy Donovan’s men seemed without energy, relying solely on the talent of Zach LaVine to beat this young Detroit team.
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How to read the stats? Min = Minutes; Shots = Successful shots / Attempted shots; 3pts = 3-points / 3-points attempted; LF = free throws made / free throws attempted; O = offensive rebound; D=defensive rebound; T = Total rebounds; Pd = assists; Fte: Personal fouls; Int = Intercepts; Bp = Lost balls; Ct: Against; +/- = Point differential when the player is on the field; Pts = Points; Eval: player evaluation calculated from positive actions – negative actions.
