http://www.detroitnews.com/apps/pbcs.dl ... 10379/1127Pistons can't outrun Bulls: Detroit fritters away 15-point lead in fourth quarter to lose its fifth straight at United Center. A 15-point lead with eight minutes left? Not good enough. A 10-point lead with 3:30 left? Nope. Not good enough. The Pistons were outscored 17-2 in the final 3:30 Tuesday night, allowing the Bulls to get away with a 107-102 victory at United Center. "It hurts," said Richard Hamilton, who had 30 points but none down the stretch. "It's kind of silly. We played well most of the game, guys defended, we shared the ball, we played together, but losing a lead like that, we just can't do that." Ben Gordon (24 points) won it with a four-point play with 16.7 seconds left. Derrick Rose, who triggered the comeback, rebounded his missed layup and kicked the ball out to Gordon in the corner. He drained the 3-pointer and was fouled by Rodney Stuckey. "It's like a broken record," Antonio McDyess said. "We come in here and say the same thing every time. We weren't supposed to lose that game no matter what. It's just disappointing."
Here's what the collapse looked like: The Pistons' 15-point lead slid to 10 with 5:50 left. Rose kept attacking off the dribble, beating traps and making plays at the basket. The Bulls made 15-of-17 free throws in the fourth. The Pistons got to the line three times. The Bulls also had six offensive rebounds, which they converted into eight second-chance points (they had 18 offensive rebounds and 19 second-chance points). "That was the tale of the tape, right there," Pistons coach Michael Curry said. The lead was still 10 with 3:30 left, thanks to a couple of baskets by Tayshaun Prince (16 points). But the Pistons missed their next five shots, two of them open looks from Hamilton, another a layup by Stuckey that Tyrus Thomas rejected. Rose hit two free throws. Thomas converted an offensive rebound. Then, after a Hamilton miss, Gordon beat everybody down the court and was fouled. His two free throws made it 100-96 with 2:27 left. After Stuckey had his layup attempt blocked by Thomas, Rose made one of two free throws and the lead was down to three with less than two minutes left. "They got into the bonus early, got to the free-throw line and got a rhythm going," Prince said. "That slowed us down offensively. Their energy picked up and just took over the momentum."
Another miss by Hamilton and a virtually uncontested jumper by Rose put the Bulls within a point, 100-99, with 1:14 left. Wallace converted two free throws, the Pistons' only points in the final 3:30, to extend the lead back to three with exactly 60 seconds left. Rose answered again, beating Stuckey off the dribble and scoring unmolested at the basket. The Pistons went back to Wallace, but this time Joakim Noah deflected the pass into the corner. Wallace retrieved it with 15 seconds still on the shot clock, but he rushed a shot from the corner and missed badly. "We made some mistakes," Curry said. "Rasheed took a bad shot early in the shot clock. It's unfortunate, but we have to be better than that down the stretch." Wallace, who did not speak to the media after the game, was almost solely responsible for the Pistons' having a 15-point lead. He scored 15 points, exploiting the smaller Thomas, in the third quarter alone. He finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. But his errant shot gave the Bulls the ball, down by a point, with 28.7 seconds left, setting the stage for Gordon's heroics. "This really hurts us," McDyess said. "We had this game won and gave it away." Rose finished with 23 points, while Thomas had 22. The Pistons have now lost five straight at the United Center.
