Feb 11, 2025, 11:24 PM ET
CHICAGO — The Detroit Pistons set a franchise record Tuesday night after they built a 42-point halftime lead on the way to a 132-92 romp over the Chicago Bulls.
Detroit outscored the Bulls 71-29 in the first half, eclipsing the previous mark of 34 points against Chicago on March 23, 1969. The 40-point margin of victory was Detroit’s largest since 2012 and tied for its third largest ever on the road.
Malik Beasley set a Detroit record for 3-pointers in a season with 212 after making 7 of 10. The previous mark was 211 by Saddiq Bey in 2021-22. Cade Cunningham added 20 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds as the Pistons came away with their most lopsided win of the season.
Tobias Harris scored 18 and Ausar Thompson finished with 16 points as the Pistons rolled to their third win in a row.
“The thing I’m most proud about is how we got up the lead and we didn’t take off the gas pedal,” Beasley said. “We kept going. That was the biggest thing.”
The victory guaranteed the Pistons a winning record going into the All-Star break for the first time in 16 seasons, according to ESPN Research.
The Bulls set a team record by missing their first 20 3-pointers before Ayo Dosunmu hit one near the end of the second quarter. They were 10-of-47 from beyond the arc and shot 35% overall in the game.
“It’s embarrassing when you’re sitting there and that’s happening, there’s no question about it,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “Our guys probably feel the same way. They invest a lot in it, but it’s one of those things, on the home court, yeah, who wants to go through that, whether it be players, the fans, any coaches, anybody.
“In a game like that, what I’d like to see a little bit more is someone going to take a charge to something like that.”
Things were so comical for Chicago that Nikola Vucevic threw his arms up in mock celebration after making a hook shot late in the first half that trimmed the deficit to 43. And the crowd cheered, too.
But there were boos as well during the drubbing, something Bulls guard Josh Giddey said the team “deserved.”
“It is our responsibility as players to give them something to cheer for,” Giddey said of the fans in the arena. “Tonight, we probably deserved that. We didn’t give them anything to cheer for. We were down 40 in the first half, and that’s not acceptable.”
Chicago had just two players score in double figures — Matas Buzelis (12 points) and Giddey (11). Coby White scored a season-low five points, making just 2 of 13 shots and missing all eight 3-point attempts.
Chicago will have its chance for revenge when the teams meet again Wednesday.
ESPN’s Jamal Collier and The Associated Press contributed to this story.
