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Bulls look for rebound after blowout in opener

May 7, 2007 - 2:57 PM Chicago at Detroit 8:00 pm EDT Eastern Conference Semifinals Pistons lead, 1-0

AUBURN HILLS, Michigan (Ticker) -- In Game One, the Detroit Pistons found offensive balance and their trademark defense while the Chicago Bulls found only humility and despair.

The Pistons host the Bulls in Game Two of the Eastern Conference semifinals on Monday at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

Detroit was a step quicker and more aggressive Saturday all around in the 95-69 victory on Saturday.

On defense, it limited Chicago to less than 33 percent shooting and forced 22 turnovers. At the other end of the court, the Pistons had five double-digit scorers, led by their All-Star guards Chauncey Billups and Richard Hamilton, who each scored 20 points.

Ben Gordon, who scored just seven points in part because he was called for two early fouls, had trouble matching up well with either Billups or Hamilton.

The Bulls also struggling dealing with Detroit's frontcourt as Rasheed Wallace, Chris Webber and Antonio McDyess can all score from the perimeter. When Chicago coach Scott Skiles replaced Ben Wallace or P.J. Brown with rookie Tyrus Thomas, the problems were compounded by the rookie's inexperience.

Working in the Bulls' favor is the recent history against the Pistons, as they took three of four contests in the regular season.

To even up the series, Chicago will need to get Luol Deng going after he managed just five second-half points in the opener. In the four meetings between the teams during the regular season, Deng averaged 21.5 points, including a 30-point outburst in the first meeting on January 6, a 106-89 victory.