ESPN Network: ESPN.com | NFL.com | NBA.com | NHL.com | NASCAR | WNBA.com | ABCSports | EXPN | FANTASY | INSIDER

  Scores/Schedules
  Standings
  Statistics
  Transactions
  Injuries
  Players
  Message Board
  NBA StatSearch
  NBA en espaņol
Clubhouses





Saturday, Dec. 23 7:30pm ET
Stackhouse leads Pistons with 25

RECAP | BOX SCORE | GAME FLOW

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- One night after his bachelor party and one night before his wedding, Jerry Stackhouse was happy to have a patsy in town.

"No offense to the Bulls, but I'm glad we didn't have to play the Lakers tonight," Stackhouse joked after scoring 25 points and handing out eight assists in a 106-93 victory over Chicago on Saturday night. "It was a long night last night."

Stackhouse shot just 6-of-22 from the floor but made 11 free throws.

"This is a very special time for me, with the wedding and the holidays," he said. "That's my excuse for my shooting tonight, but I'm glad we won the game."

Chucky Atkins helped out with 22 points, including 13 in the crucial third quarter.

"My man Stack is getting married, and he had his whole family here, so we had to get him a win," Atkins said. "We needed this one, and I felt good out there."

Michael Curry added 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting, while Ben Wallace had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

The Pistons won for just the third time in eight games, while Chicago lost its fifth in a row and for the 11th time in 12 games.

Chicago's Ron Mercer led all scorers with 29 points, while Elton Brand added 21.

"It was a winnable game for us after a horrific start," Chicago coach Tim Floyd. "I thought the job we did on Stackhouse was decent for the most part, but we just didn't keep him off the line."

Detroit held Chicago scoreless for the game's first 4:53 on the way to an early 24-7 lead, but the Bulls fought back within 49-46 at intermission.

"Once you get a team down, you have to keep playing the same way in order to keep them down," Wallace said. "The Bulls might not have a great record, but those guys wouldn't be in the league if they couldn't play."

Chicago actually went ahead by a point early in the third, but Atkins led the Pistons on a 20-7 run to put them back up by 13.

Atkins' 13 points in the quarter helped Detroit to a 78-71 lead with 12 minutes to go.

Dana Barros moved Detroit's lead to 91-79 with 7:50 left, hitting a 3-pointer as the shot clock expired.

"We were getting ready for the holidays a little too soon," Brand said. "We didn't have any intensity or any fight to us."

Chicago answered with a 6-1 run, and Detroit helped the rally by missing four of six free throws in one stretch. The Bulls cut the margin to 93-89 with 3:33 left, but baskets from Joe Smith and Curry finally put the game away.

"Give Chicago a lot of credit -- they could have packed it in early and gone home for the holidays, but they made us fight for it," Pistons coach George Irvine said. "I think we thought it was going to be easy, and we let up on defense. When we do that, it hurts us on the offensive end, and of course, it hurts us on the defensive end, so we are really in trouble."

Game notes
One losing streak was guaranteed to end during the game, as Detroit entered the game with a 0-3 record on Saturdays while the Bulls were 0-5. Chicago is now 2-2 on Thursdays and 1-22 during the rest of the week. ... Detroit has beaten Chicago four times in five tries since the start of the 1999-2000 season. This win gave the Pistons a 94-93 edge in the all-time series, the first time they have been ahead since the glory days of the "Bad Boys" in the late 1980s.
ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard

Chicago Clubhouse

Detroit Clubhouse


RECAPS
Atlanta 91
Indiana 87

Charlotte 88
San Antonio 84

Detroit 106
Chicago 93

Miami 86
New Jersey 80

Orlando 111
Cleveland 92

Utah 98
Minnesota 92

Golden State 95
Houston 87

Milwaukee 104
Boston 99

Phoenix 102
Denver 93

Portland 87
Washington 70

LA Clippers 92
Vancouver 90

Sacramento 97
Seattle 92

FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT

Jerry Stackhouse Official Site


ESPN.com:  HELP |  ADVERTISER INFO |  CONTACT US |  TOOLS |  SITE MAP
Copyright ©2000 ESPN Internet Group. Terms of Use and Privacy Policy and Safety Information are applicable to this site. Employment opportunities at ESPN.com.