NBA-Pistons edge Bulls in Chicago to boost playoff hopes

April 2 (The Sports Xchange) - Reggie Jackson had 22 points and Tobias Harris had 21 to lead the Detroit Pistons, who got double-figures scoring from all five starters, to a 94-90 win against the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night at the United Center. Harris' put-back with 49.5 seconds left in the fourth quarter put the Pistons up 88-83. Jackson hit two clutch free-throws with 20.4 seconds left to help Detroit (41-36) secure its third win in four games against Chicago (38-38) this season. Jimmy Butler led all scorers with 28 points and recorded the first triple-double of his career with career-highs in rebounds (17) and assists (12). The Pistons stayed a half-game ahead of the Indiana Pacers (40-36), who defeated the Philadelphia 76ers to keep their hold of the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Chicago, which played without starters Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson, trails Indiana by two games and the Pistons by 2 1/2 games. Harris also finished with seven rebounds and four assists for Detroit, which got double-figures scoring from Marcus Morris (16 points), Kentavious Caldwell-Pope (13 points) and Andre Drummond (11 points and 11 rebounds). Pau Gasol had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls, who got 14 points off the bench from Aaron Brooks. Chicago and Detroit each have six games remaining. The game was tightly-contested from start to finish. Neither team held a double-digit lead, there were 15 lead changes and 13 ties. Detroit led 46-45 at halftime, after a first half in which neither team led by more than six. The Bulls went up 20-14 in the first quarter on E'Twaun Moore's 3-pointer with 5:10 left, but Detroit responded by taking its biggest lead, 37-33, on Anthony Tolliver's 3 with 8:36 left in the second. The Pistons would've led by more at the break if they'd shot better from the free-throw line, hitting just five of 12 free throws in the first half (41.7 percent) on the way to a 10 of 20 performance for the game.