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Bulls hand Pistons 13th straight loss

Jan 12, 2010 - 4:44 AM CHICAGO(AP) -- Chicago Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro has finally caught a little bit of a break. He is coaching an injury-free roster and for the time being the schedule has lightened up.

Luol Deng scored 27 points on 13-of-18 shooting and the Bulls handed the Detroit Pistons their 13th consecutive loss, 120-87 on Monday night.

Detroit matched its longest skid since losing 13 straight to end the 1993-94 season.

After three consecutive losses, Chicago rebounded with a lopsided win against last-place Minnesota on Saturday, and then took advantage of a depleted Pistons team playing again without Tayshaun Prince.

"We have Tyrus (Thomas) and Kirk (Hinrich) back and we've had some practice time together," Del Negro said. "Guys know their role off the bench because we have our rotation set with guys helping. And the schedule has been more in our favor."

Derrick Rose finished with 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting for the Bulls, who shot 57.1 percent overall, including 70.6 percent in the third quarter. The Bulls had a season-high in points and their biggest margin of victory.

Rookie Jonas Jerebko had 15 points and nine rebounds and Richard Hamilton added 17 points for the Pistons, who last won on Dec. 12, against Golden State.

"We've got to let it go," Ben Wallace said. "Like I said, there seems to be a carry-over effect and that starts happening when we start feeling sorry for ourselves. We can't afford to feel sorry for ourselves because nobody's going to feel sorry for us. We've just got to go out and play basketball and approach every game like we're the better team."

One game after Pistons coach John Kuester criticized his team's intensity after a home blowout loss to Philadelphia, he saw his team allow a season-high in points.

Hinrich gave the Bulls an 18-17 lead on a 3-pointer and Deng scored six consecutive points to put them up 24-19. The Bulls increased the lead to 61-47 on Deng's 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds left in the second quarter.

Finally, the Bulls were on the other end of a blowout.

"It's a tough league. Nobody is going to feel sorry for you," Hinrich said. "It's unfortunate what they're going through. Right now, I haven't even thought about it. I didn't even know they lost that many in a row until an hour before the game."

Deng finished with 17 points in the first half on 8-of-13 shooting. As a team, the Bulls shot 55.1 percent in the half.

But somehow Detroit's defense managed to get worse in the third quarter.

John Salmons increased the Bulls lead to 72-52 with a 3 and made he another uncontested 3 with 7:48 left in the third to put Chicago up 77-54 and forcing Kuester to call a timeout.

Chicago increased its lead to 34 late in the third quarter by scoring 11 consecutive points. Rose's jumper put the Pistons up 96-62 with 2:08 left in the quarter.

Prince, who has missed 26 games with a back injury, missed the game with a sore left knee after injuring it against the 76ers on Saturday. Former Bulls guard Ben Gordon played 7 minutes and didn't score.

"You're not going to get confidence from fooling yourself or trying to psyche up your ego," Gordon said. "You've got to go out there and play basketball. That's how you get your confidence right - by going out there every night, playing as hard as you can and playing the right way. That's the only way you can build confidence."

NOTES: Former Bulls C Luc Longley, who was part of part of three championships from 1996 to 1998, watched the game courtside. ... Pistons G Rodney Stuckey, who was a game-time decision with a sore right knee, played 31 minutes and finished with 11 points. ... Rose had nine assists.