Bulls 101, Pistons 96: Rose And Boozer Shine As Bulls Hang On Late

After being named the Kia Eastern Conference Player of the Month for March, Derrick Rose continued his torrid play with 27 points and 7 assists in the Bulls' 101-96 victory over the Detroit Pistons.

Rose shot well from outside early, hitting three of four three-pointers, setting up his driving game to close things out in the second half. Carlos Boozer had his second straight quality game, which, it is worth noting, both came while Joakim Noah was on the bench with a sprained ankle. Nevertheless, Boozer had a monster game, scoring 22 points to go with eight rebounds and seven assists in a near triple-double. His presence allowed the Bulls to control the pace and play inside-out, which coach Tom Thibodeau has said repeatedly is one of the Bulls' keys to success.

Luol Deng scored 15 points in 42 minutes but also had four turnovers, and is clearly in a bit of a rut as the season nears its close. Still, his ability to do the little things on offense and play some of the league's best defense means he contributes even when he isn't a consistent scoring option.

After a 38-minute halftime in which former Bull and Piston Dennis Rodman had his jersey retired, the Bulls had to reestablish the energy that helped them build a 10-point first half lead. After letting the lead dwindle to six, the Bulls went on a 15-0 run, keyed by nine points from Carlos Boozer.

Thibodeau will certainly see things he didn't like on the game film, as the Bulls' second half defense left much to be desired. However Rose and contributions from the Bulls' reserves helped put the game away late. Rose, who since missing a game-tying free throw against the Clippers in December, has become a stellar free throw shooter, averaging 86% since the fateful miss. He swished two picture-perfect free throws to seal the game as the Pistons, behind inspired efforts from veterans Rip Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince, fought to close the gap. It's been said before, but Derrick Rose, if he continues along this path, will be known as the Mariano Rivera of basketball. He is a closer, through and through.

No rest for the weary, as the Bulls have their second game of a back-to-back tomorrow night against the Toronto Raptors at the United Center. When last they played, the Raptors scored 118 points and beat the Bulls in Joakim Noah's first game in his return from thumb surgery.

Hopefully Noah will be recovered enough from an ankle sprain to return against the Raptors once again. With the victory the Bulls hold a 2.5 game over the Miami Heat, who leapfrogged the Boston Celtics by a half game in the Eastern Conference standings after the Celtics lost to the Atlanta Hawks on Friday night.

Derrick Rose Named Kia Eastern Conference Player OF The Month

Derrick Rose was named the Kia Eastern Conference Player of the Month for March after leading the Bulls to a 13-3 record. Rose was stellar over that stretch, marking career highs in points (42 on March 18th vs. Indiana) and assists (17 in The Comeback in Milwaukee).

For the month, Rose averaged 25.6 points, 7.1 assists, 3.7 rebounds and 1.1 steals.

Chicago Bulls Vs. Detroit Pistons: Punishing The Bad Boys

Earlier this week, former Detroit Pistons and "Bad Boy" Bill Laimbeer appeared on ESPN 1000's Waddle and Silvy show to talk about the Chicago Bulls, specifically the MVP candidacy of Derrick Rose. For those wondering if Laimbeer's antagonistic days ended when he retired, the answer is no.

When asked to compare Michael Jordan and Rose, Laimbeer replied, "I wouldn't compare them because I don't really care about either of them."

Well, then.

Laimbeer went on to say that Rose "... has a lot to learn also as far as getting his teammates more involved. He takes the ball a lot himself these days." Now, Laimbeer may in fact have been right, and was a bit more complimentary later in the interview, but he apparently still holds the ethos of the "Bad Boy" Pistons close to his heart: No love lost -- especially when it comes to the Bulls.

Interestingly, DRose and the boys seem surrounded at the moment by Pistons past and present, as tonight Dennis Rodman, who it should be noted also won three championships with your Chicago Bulls, will have his number retired in a halftime ceremony at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Fitting that the Bulls will be in the house when the Worm will have his jersey lifted to the rafters.

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Unfortunately for the current Pistons team, the Bad Boy ethos of intimidation walked out the door right along with Laimbeer, Rodman and the rest of the late '80s squad that won two NBA championships. The franchise that once bullied Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen in their young careers has lost 11 straight contests to the Bulls and will try to avoid a four-game season sweep tonight.

The Bulls (54-20) remain two games ahead of the Boston Celtics in the East and have won 13 of 15 games overall. Joakim Noah is once again a game-time decision with a sprained ankle, but Carlos Boozer is coming off of his best game in nearly two months and has owned the Pistons this season to the tune of 29.0 points and 11 rebounds per game.

While Chicago would love for Boozer to have a big game regardless of circumstance, doing it with Noah on the floor would help alleviate some of the concern that the two players simply don't co-exist that well in a game together. The truth is that, once Noah is able to space the floor and hit the elbow jumper he consistently hit before his thumb injury, the Bulls frontcourt will find the synergy it has lacked to this point.

The Pistons (26-48) have lost four of five games and are perilously close to their first back-to-back 50-loss seasons since 1994-1995. It has been a difficult year in Detroit, where the players and coach John Kuester have seemingly clashed all season, leading to a near-mutiny on February 26th when six players boycotted a morning shootaround. Pistons management did their best to spin the event, saying many of the players had been excused from practice for various reasons. But it was hardly the team's first internal strife of the season.

Nevertheless, while their fans may be counting ping-pong balls for the upcoming NBA draft lottery, The Pistons have a winning record at home and will be playing with energy with so many former franchise stars in the house.

Pistons To Watch For

Combo guard Rodney Stuckey continues to play well for Detroit, averaging 11.6 points and 6.0 assists over his last ten games. Veterans Richard Hamilton and Tayshaun Prince have played extensive minutes for the Pistons since the blowup with their coach, just as likely a product of the franchise trying to increase their trade value as it is a sign of reconciliation. Rookie Greg Monroe has showed great promise this season in a weak Pistons front line -- especially with Ben Wallace day-to-day with a knee injury. Former Bull Ben Gordon, he of the $11 million salary, has gone scoreless in two of his last four games and is averaging a career-worst 11.8 points per game.

Bulls To Watch For

As mentioned above, Boozer has played two of his best games against Detroit this season. When he plays well, the Bulls' offense flows inside-out and driving lanes open up for Derrick Rose. Boozer, Omer Asik and Noah/Kurt Thomas should feast on the worst rebounding team in the league. Luol Deng has been back practicing for more than a week now and is starting to round back into form.

The Bulls look to maintain their two-game lead atop the Eastern Conference and go 14-1 in the Central Division tonight at 6:30 CDT on Comcast SportsNet Plus.

Follow Zachary Lee on Twitter @rightfieldsucks