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Saturday, Jan. 22 3:30pm ET
Pistons shoot 39 percent from floor | |||||
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BOX SCORE
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 GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- With Grant Hill writhing in pain after a hard fall on his tailbone, teammates Christian Laettner and Lindsey Hunter stood off to the side with worried looks on their faces. Hill would be OK, but his teammates were no help. "Guys are supposed to step up," coach Alvin Gentry said after the Detroit Pistons' 98-92 loss to the Chicago Bulls on Saturday. "It's not Grant Hill's job to win games for us by himself." Without Hill, Jerry Stackhouse had one of his worst outings of the season, scoring just five points on 1-of-8 shooting. The Pistons shot a lousy 39 percent from the floor (34-of-87), were only 19-of-31 from the free-throw line and got outrebounded by a whopping 53-39. As if that wasn't bad enough, they lost to a team that only a month ago was chasing the worst record in NBA history. Toni Kukoc led five Bulls in double figures with 22 points, Chris Carr scored a season-high 15 and Dickey Simpkins grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds. "The game was close only because we were playing a team that's not a very good team," said Stackhouse, who tied his season-low in points. "If we go up against any other team in our division tonight, the game wouldn't even have been close." The lone bright spot for the Pistons was Terry Mills, who scored a team-high 20 points, including two 3-pointers. Things started going sour for the Pistons with 20 seconds left in the first half when Hill leapt for a steal and came down so hard on his tailbone the smack could be heard throughout the United Center. He was on the ground grimacing for about five minutes before he was helped to his feet and walked gingerly to the locker room. Hill came back for second-half warm-ups, but was back in the locker room shortly after and didn't return. He is expected to play Sunday when Detroit hosts Dallas. "You just hope it's not a broken bone or, the way he was holding his lower back, a vertebrae," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. "You hate to see that happen to any great player, and he is a great player." But the Bulls also saw an opportunity with Hill gone. "Grant Hill and Stackhouse are great offensive threats and they cause matchup problems," Simpkins said. "With Hill going out, it definitely took away from their offensive power." Mills made two 3-pointers in a three-minute span to give Detroit a 77-69 lead with 9:31 left in the game, but the Pistons went cold from there. They didn't score a field goal for the next 5:17 and managed just three free throws. The Bulls took advantage as Matt Maloney hit two 3s to spark a 15-3 run that gave Chicago an 84-80 lead with 4:34 left. Christian Laettner finally hit a layup with 4:14 left to cut the lead to 84-82, but Detroit could get no closer than two points the rest of the game. "In the last month, the last 10 games, we're a .500 team," Kukoc said. "A couple of important pieces have come together." That doesn't mean the Bulls still don't need some work. Though they picked up their seventh victory -- three more and those annoying comparisons to the 1972-73 76ers can stop -- they had 23 turnovers, 13 in the second quarter alone. Game notesLaettner scored 19 points on 7-of-19 shooting. ... Elton Brand had 20 points and 14 rebouns for his 12th double-double in the last 14 games. ... Hersey Hawkins, who began the season with the second-longest active consecutive games streak, returned after missing the last 20 games with a torn calf muscle. ... Bulls guard B.J. Armstrong, who went on the injured list after reinjuring his left knee Jan. 8, is expected back after the All-Star break. | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Detroit Clubhouse Chicago Clubhouse Hill leaves Pistons' game after landing hard on tailbone
RECAPS New Jersey 98 Dallas 95
Chicago 98
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