There are so many times when the National Basketball Association just doesn't seem to make sense. Remember when the Bulls let a 30-plus point lead disappear in a game against Sacramento last season? On Saturday, the Bulls reversed the outcome, coming back from a 21-point second half deficit to beat the Detroit Pistons 101-91.
Everything that went wrong in the first half went right in the second half, and the Pistons maintained their early season status as the bad-luck team of the Eastern Conference by letting their advantage disappear. The Pistons dropped to 0-3, losing the first two games by a total of four points, then letting a dominant lead slip away.
The Bulls looked soft in the first half. Although they managed numerous scoring opportunities inside, they could not convert, either because they allowed a Pistons player to block the shot, or they just did not make the final authoritative move to the hoop.
It also seemed as if the Bulls were going through some sort of indoctrination with the officials. They were whistled for 18 first-half fouls, and Detroit made 21 of 23 free throw attempts. Luol Deng, Taj Gibson and Omer Asik found themselves in foul trouble with three tags each.
The Bulls themselves were five for six from the line in the first half. NBA referees even those kind of numbers out, and the Pistons stopped making trips to the line. They also stopped hitting shots (12 for 46 in the second half), and you can credit the Bulls' improved defense if you want. You don't have to, though.
The Bulls made their comeback using a lineup of second-stringers. From the 9:53 mark of the fourth quarter, with the Pistons leading 84-73, the Bulls had James Johnson, Omer Asik, Kyle Korver, Brian Scalabrine and C.J. Watson on the floor. When Taj Gibson and Derrick Rose re-entered the game, the Bulls were down by eight points, and that group scored the next eight points, and Rose only contributed two free throws in that stretch.
"This shows the character of our team,'' Rose said. "We didn't give up. We kept playing through it."
Rose had a monster game, scoring 39 points on 13 for 27 shooting, with 10 for 13 free throws. He also had six rebounds and seven assists, with two steals and two demonstrative blocked shots.
"Derrick was really hot and it seemed like he could do whatever he wanted,'' former Bull Ben Gordon said.
Admittedly, the Pistons are one of a group of very poor Eastern Conference teams, but these are teams the Bulls need to beat if they are going to chase one of the top four playoff spots in the conference. It's good to know guys like Scalabrine and Johnson are going to be able to help when Gibson and Deng get in foul trouble like they did Saturday.
Noah had his second double-double with 15 points and 17 rebounds. He is likely to chase the league's rebounding title this season. Gibson finished with 11 points in just 18 minutes of playing time due to foul trouble, but he did not grab a rebound (Noah gets them all).
HERO: Derrick Rose scored 39 points, tying his career high, and he worked hard for those points in 38 minutes. You have to ask yourself if Rose is going to burn himself out working as hard as he did Saturady, but he got the Bulls their first win of the season.
Kent McDill has been covering sports in Chicago for 30 years, and spent 11 seasons with the Bulls from 1988-99, covering them for the Daily Herald. He has covered the Chicago Bears, Bulls, White Sox, Cubs and Fire in his career, as well as Chicago's college basketball scene. Kent will be freelancing for Docksquad Sports...
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