Bulls Win First Game

By Benjy Lipsman in News on Nov 9, 2007 4:45PM

It only took them five games into the season, but the Bulls finally won a game on Thursday night. After dropping their first four to mediocre teams, they handed the previously undefeated Detroit Pistons their first loss of the season. Nice!

Second-year player and new starting power forward Tyrus Thomas had his second monster game of the season, leading the team with 19 points while grabbing a career-high 14 rebounds. Luol Deng added 17 points, and Ben Gordon scored 16.

Done in by poor outside shooting in previous games, the Bulls inside game finally showed up. They grabbed 15 offensive rebounds which helped them outscore the Pistons 42-26 in the paint. Rookie Joakim Noah paced the team with five of the offensive boards.

Does their performance against the Pistons mean that the Bulls are finally over whatever it was that affected their focus through the first week of the season? Does it mean -- whether contract talks or Kobe trade rumors -- that they're now ready to play up to expectations and contend for the Eastern Conference title?
Let's hope the team that beat Detroit is the real Bulls team. They have one more home game against Toronto on Saturday before they hit the road for their annual six-game "circus trip."

Photo by AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh