CHICAGO -- The Chicago Bulls fell to the Detroit Pistons, 114- 91, on Wednesday night at the United Center.
In their fifth preseason game, the Bulls welcomed familiar faces to the starting lineup as Joakim Noah suited up while power forward Taj Gibson made his preseason debut.
New Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg went with a big line-up, starting Nikola Mirotic, Pau Gasol and Noah in the frontcourt while Jimmy Butler and E?Twaun Moore manned the backcourt.
The strategy, however, didn?t bode well for the Bulls as they started off extremely slow and gave up 28 first quarter points. Chicago fought back and pulled to within 51-50 at the half but the Pistons responded with 38-26 third quarter burst to put the contest away.
Reggie Jackson led Detroit with 20 points while four other Pistons finished in double figures in points. Marcus Morris Morris and Reggie Bullock both chipped in 17 points, while big man Andre Drummond added 14 points and 10 rebounds.
?They consistently beat us down the floor, especially in that fourth quarter. You can?t do that,? Bulls head coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters at the postgame press conference.
Chicago was paced by veteran guard E?Twaun Moore who poured in a team high 16 points. The bench accounted for most of the minutes and scoring as the only starters to go over 30 minutes were Moore and Jimmy Butler.
Derrick Rose was seen shooting around during pregame with some swelling around his eye. He was available for non-contact drills.
The Pistons next preseason game will be against the Spurs on Sunday, While the Bulls travel to Charlotte to face the Hornets on Monday.
Photo: Joakim Noah tries to get past Andre Drummond on Wednesday night at the United Center. The Pistons ripped the Bulls, 114-91.
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