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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- Jerry Stackhouse and Ron Mercer faced off, exchanging offensive moves and points while trying to shake their teams out of losing streaks Thursday night.
Stackhouse, the NBA's leading scorer, won the shootout, and his team, the Detroit Pistons, won the game, beating Mercer and the Chicago Bulls 116-110.
"I thought I was hot right away," said Stackhouse, who
finished with 36 points -- hitting all 16 of his free throws -- while
dishing off 11 assists as Detroit ended its six-game losing streak.
"It felt good, but it might have been fool's gold because we didn't come out and get ahead of them. The losing streak is gone. We played some pretty good defense at stretches and we made some tough shots."
Mercer shot better from the field than Stackhouse, hitting 15 of
23 field goals to finish with 33 points, but couldn't stop
Chicago's seventh straight loss.
"Just two guys competing, trying to make their team win. Just
two competitors," Mercer said of his matchup with Stackhouse, who
was 9-of-25 on field goals.
"It's getting very frustrating. I'm excited we're closer in
games, but we have to figure out ways to win down the stretch."
Joe Smith added 23 points for the Pistons, and Elton Brand had
25 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls.
"It really hurts tonight," said Brand as the Bulls fell to
6-33. "We just didn't have any stops in the fourth quarter."
When Chucky Atkins hit 3-pointers to close the third quarter and
open the fourth, Detroit had a 95-88 lead.
The Bulls closed within two three times before Stackhouse hit a
jumper, Smith got inside for a basket and Mateen Cleaves made
3-of-4 free throws for a 112-105 lead with just under three minutes
to play.
Mercer then faked Stackhouse off his feet to hit a jumper, was
fouled and completed the three-point play to make it 113-110 with
just over two minutes left. Cleaves lost the ball, but Mercer
missed a long jumper from the key.
Stackhouse was fouled on a drive and his two free throws pushed
the lead back to five with 1:16 left.
Stackhouse shot 5-of-8 in the opening quarter and scored 16
before cooling in the second. He still finished the half with 22
points as Detroit took a 63-60 lead. Stackhouse, who leads the NBA
in free throws made, was 8-for-8 from the line in the half.
"That's a strong part of my game, going to the line,"
Stackhouse said. "It's trying to get contact, knowing teams will
foul me."
Mercer made 8 of 10 field-goal attempts in the first half for 16
points, but the Bulls trailed despite shooting 61 percent.
Game notes
Stackhouse has led the Pistons in scoring in 35 of the 38
games he's played. His 16 straight free throws without a miss were
a United Center record. The previous mark was 15. ... Bulls center Michael Ruffin could miss two months with a broken right hand. Brad Miller, who'd been unhappy with his playing time recently, got the start and scored 16 points. ... Ex-Bull Judd Buechler was announced as a Pistons starter, bringing warm applause at the United Center. One catch -- Buechler didn't start, Michael Curry did.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Detroit Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
Indiana 84
Atlanta 76
Dallas 115
Orlando 106
Portland 85
Miami 74
Detroit 116
Chicago 110
Houston 112
Golden State 104
Boston 82
LA Clippers 79
FROM
ATHLETESDIRECT
Jerry Stackhouse Official Site
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