The Chicago Bulls clinched the 9th seed for the Eastern Conference Play In Tournament, with a 127-105 victory over the Detroit Pistons on Thursday, April 11, on the road.
The Bulls were led by forward DeMar DeRozan, who scored a game-high 39 points versus Detroit on Thursday night.
According to Bulls PR, DeRozan went 14 of 22 from the field, 7 of 8 from the free throw line, 4 of 6 from the three point arc and dished out 7 assist. He has now recorded 30 plus points and 5 plus assists in 3-straight games (4/7-4/11), tying the 2nd-longest such streak in his career (longest: 4-straight, 2/11-2/16/22), added @bballref.
“I’m happy for these guys,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said via the Associated Press. “This season got off to a rough start for us, and I really appreciate the guys in our locker room sticking together and fighting. They never quit and never made excuses, even when we were losing players.”
In addition to great play from the team, the Bulls also outscored the Pistons 31-30 in the first quarter, 33-25 in the second quarter, 35-25 in the third quarter and 28-25 in the fourth quarter to win the game.
Final Score: Bulls 127, Pistons 105
With the victory, the Bulls improved to 38-42 on the regular season and will play Washington on Friday, April 12, on the road. Game time 6 p.m.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
