Gasol's Late Bucket Helps Bulls to 88-82 Win vs. Pistons

Posted by Unknown on Saturday, April 04, 2015 with 1 comment
This was a back and forth game that shouldn't have been so hard. But credit the peaky Pistons, who will likely not make the playoffs.  They fought the Bulls tooth and nail at the United Center, and the Bulls made the key play with seconds left to secure the win.

Pau Gasol had 26 points and 10 rebounds for his 50th double double of the season. It was Gasol's tip in off a Taj Gibson miss with 5.7 ticks left that helped secure the win. Gasol was fouled by Andre Drummond, who had a great night for Detroit. Drummond finished with 14 points and hauled in 22 rebounds

Detroit was held to a season low 9 points in the second quarter yet found a way to stay in the game.
Mainly due to Chicago's poor offense; Chicago had 12 points in the third frame.  The Bulls shot 38.8 percent from the field.  Jimmy Butler scored 18 points on 6 of 16 attempts. Taj Gibson scored 10, 8 in the first half. Nikola Miritoc had 11 points for the Bulls but it was Gasol who came up big to keep the Bulls one game ahead of Toronto for the 3rd playoff seed.  It looks like the final determination of seeding won't be set until the season ends. The Bulls have a 46-30 record and the Raptors are 45-31.

Drummond's night gave him 1000 points, 1000 rebounds, and 100 blocks for the second straight seasons. No other player has done that in Franchise history.

Joakim Noah had 9 rebounds, 10 assists and 6 points in 28+ minutes, also was key to the win.

"It was an ugly win and we found a way," Noah said. "That's important.."

It was a back and forth affair until late in the 4th quarter when Gasol made an effort play and it paid off.

Nothing has been handed to Chicago.  They are going to have to go out and take it.