Pistons lead by as high 49, embarrass Bulls

Detroit Pistons guard Malik Beasley (5) during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls Sunday, Feb. 2, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Duane Burleson)

Reserve Malik Beasley scored 24 points and Cade Cunningham added 20 points and seven assists to guide the visiting Detroit Pistons to a 132-92 rout of the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday in the NBA.

The Pistons never trailed while shooting 53.1 percent from the field. Their biggest advantage was 49 points.

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Detroit has won three games in a row and five of its past seven. The Pistons matched their season high for points allowed while limiting the Bulls to 35 percent shooting overall, and Chicago went just 10-for-47 from long range.

READ: NBA: Pistons start fast, hang on to defeat Hornets

The three that gave @mbeasy5 the most in a season in franchise history‼️ pic.twitter.com/KLFKydtwBD

— Detroit Pistons (@DetroitPistons) February 12, 2025

Tobias Harris (18 points), Ausar Thompson (16), Isaiah Stewart (14) and Marcus Sasser (14) also scored in double figures for Detroit. Jalen Duren snagged a game-high 11 rebounds.

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Rookie Matas Buzelis led Chicago with 12 points, scoring in double figures for the seventh straight game. Josh Giddey followed with 11 points.

Chicago trailed 71-29 at the break, with its halftime deficit matching the largest in franchise history. It was the Pistons’ biggest halftime lead ever.

Additional dubious distinctions also added up for the Bulls, who set season lows for points in a half and a quarter, scoring only 11 in the second.

READ: NBA: Cavaliers let late lead lapse, trim Pistons at buzzer

Detroit shot 57.4 percent from the floor in the first half compared to 23.1 percent for Chicago while leading by as many as 45 points. The Bulls, at times, appealed to the home crowd’s uneasiness. After making a hook shot to stop a 23-0 Pistons run and a personal 0-for-9 start from the floor, Nikola Vucevic raised his arms in feigned triumph.

A breakthrough came on the next trip down the floor. Ayo Dosunmu drilled the Bulls’ first trey of the night after an 0-for-20 start from beyond the arc. Chicago went just 1-for-23 from deep in the first half.

Dosunmu, Vucevic and Tre Jones each scored eight points. Vucevic grabbed seven rebounds.

Beasley connected on seven 3-pointers while establishing a single-season franchise record with 212 made threes.