The only shots Nate Robinson fears are the kind he takes at the doctor’s office.He doesn’t like needles.He welcomes crunch time.Robinson showed no fear down the stretch, scoring 12 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, and Luol Deng finished with 19 after a slow start to lead the Bulls to an 87-86 victory over the Orlando Magic on Friday night.  Robinson, who hit the go-ahead basket the previous night in a two-point win at Brooklyn, came up big down the stretch, offsetting a season-high 27 points by Orlando’s Beno Udrih.Robinson scored nine points during an 18-4 run that turned a five-point deficit into an 87-78 lead. Deng hit two 3-pointers during that stretch, and Robinson capped it with a long jumper as he crashed to the floor with 3:51 left.The Bulls did not score again, but they managed to pull this one out, anyway, sending the Magic to their 12th loss in 13 games.

“I’m not afraid to fail,” Robinson said. “You’re going to have to fail a lot to succeed in this game. You can’t be afraid to take that shot. And you can’t be afraid to miss it or make it.”

So when was the last time he was afraid of a shot? Robinson smiled.

“Probably the last time I’ve been to the doctor,” he said, laughing. “Probably never. I’m never afraid. That’s something that my father installed in me young – never be afraid to fail or succeed.”

Orlando was within one after Robinson lost his dribble and DeQuan Jones broke the other way for a dunk with 1:33 remaining.Deng then missed on a drive, and after Carlos Boozer stole the ball from Nikola Vucevic, Robinson missed a 17-footer with 25 seconds left.Vucevic grabbed the rebound, and the Magic called time. With one more chance left, though, they gave it up again. This time, a driving Udrih threw a bad pass that Jimmy Butler recovered in the corner for the Bulls with about 10 seconds left.

“They were trying to blitz me, especially from the outside, so that’s why I attacked the other side,” Udrih said. “I tried to spin back and I fell down. Things happen.”

The Magic still had a foul to give and needed to commit two quick ones to get another chance. The Bulls kept the ball moving, though, and Orlando couldn’t stop the clock until there were 0.2 seconds left, preserving the win.

“Great lesson for us,” Magic coach Jacque Vaughn said.

The Fifth-place Bulls moved within a game of Brooklyn for the fourth seed in the Eastern Conference and home-court advantage in the first round of the playoffs, even though it again was missing five key players.Richard Hamilton (back), Taj Gibson (sprained left knee), Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis in his right foot), and Marco Belinelli (abdominal strain) all remained sidelined along with star Derrick Rose. Of course, he’s been out all year after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.The Bulls still had enough to beat a team that came in with the league’s second-worst record – barely.They trailed by as much as eight in the third with Udrih going off for 18. But Butler put a stop to that in the fourth, limiting him to just one missed shot.The streaky Robinson started to go on one of his rolls at the end of the quarter.He stepped back and buried a fadeaway 3-pointer at the buzzer and started the fourth by nailing another shot from long range to pull the Bulls within 70-69.He wasn’t finished, and Deng wasn’t either. The Bulls were trailing 74-69 when Deng started the go-ahead rally with a 3. Robinson scored nine during that run, finishing it off with that long jumper after back-to-back 3s by Deng and Vladimir Radmanovic.

“For him, it all starts on offense,” Butler said. “For other guys, it may start on defense.”

And when Robinson hits one shot, the baskets then tend to come in bunches for him.

“He can hit a 3 and then split a screen and go dunk it,” Butler said. “You’d best believe something’s coming next whenever he gets going.”

NOTES—There was nothing new on the Rose front, with coach Tom Thibodeau saying, “The same. Just steady progress.” He also said Hamilton “has a ways to go,” but Noah and Belinelli are “very close.”….Orlando’s Maurice Harkless played just 8:22 because of a sore left knee……Hedo Turkoglu missed his fourth straight game for personal reasons…..The Magic have dropped 10 straight road games.

BROOKLYN—Down five key players. Down 16 points. A lot for any team to overcome.These Bulls are used to it.

“We fight to the end,” forward Carlos Boozer said. “We’ve got some resilient guys in here.” Boozer had 29 points and 18 rebounds, Nate Robinson made the go-ahead basket with 22 seconds left, and the Bulls rallied to beat the Brooklyn Nets 92-90 on Thursday night in a potential preview of a first-round playoff series.

Jimmy Butler had 16 points and 10 rebounds, Luol Deng scored 18 points, and Robinson finished with 12 as the Bulls shook off the absences of the injured players to keep Indiana from clinching the Central Division title they’ve won the last two years.The Bulls pulled into a tie for fifth place with Atlanta and climbed within 1 1/2 games of the Nets for the No. 4 seed and home-court advantage in the first round.And the Bulls did it without Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, Taj Gibson, Richard Hamilton and Marco Belinelli, all starters or key members of their rotation. Plus, they lost starting point guard Kirk Hinrich to fouls with 3:38 remaining.But they made more clutch plays down the stretch to pull out a game they never led until the final period.

“For us, it’s big,” Robinson said. “Kirk fouled out. You got Marco out. Rip out. D-Rose out. Taj out. Guys are just stepping up, man, and that’s what teams do. You got Jo out and (Nazr Mohammed) stepping in for him. These guys are coming in and it’s like old school wrestling. Tag team. You know when one guy goes in, tag him, the other guy go out. Back and forth. We just got to keep playing and keep doing that, we’ll be OK.”

Deron Williams had 30 points and 10 assists for the Nets, who had a disappointing return home from an eight-game road trip. Brook Lopez finished with 28 points, but he had a turnover and two misses in the final minute, including a corner jumper that went in and out that would have forced overtime.

“It’s tough, just because our team was playing so well for the majority of the game and I contributed a lot to how the final score ended up and that’s definitely not something I’m happy about,” Lopez said.

The Nets took a 67-65 lead into the fourth when Hinrich fouled Williams behind the 3-point line with 0.3 seconds left in the third, an inexcusable way to pick up his fifth, and Williams made two of the three free throws.The Bulls finally took its first lead at 69-67 on Deng’s basket 1:16 into the fourth and it was a four-point game either way from there. Williams gave the Nets a three-point lead with 52 seconds remaining, but Deng made a long jumper from the corner and Robinson turned Lopez’s bad pass into a floater that put the Visitors ahead 91-90 with 22 seconds left.Lopez missed and Daequan Cook made a free throw to make it 92-90 with 5.5 seconds to play. Williams drove into the lane on the Nets’ final possession and kicked it to a wide-open Lopez, but his jumper bounced out.Joe Johnson, back in the starting lineup after missing five games with a sore left heel, scored 12 points in the Nets’ first home game since March 17. They went 5-3 on their road trip and seemed headed toward an easy victory in their return home.

“It’s tough. This is a game that we desperately needed considering where we are in the standings at this point, and in the first half we were pretty good,” Johnson said. “And in the second half I just didn’t think we pushed the ball as much as we did in the first and play as loose as we did in the first and it hurt us.”

The Nets scored the first eight points, six by Lopez, and increased it to 18-4 as the Bulls missed 10 of its first 12 shots. Lopez made his first six shots, was 8 of 9 for 18 points in the first quarter, and Brooklyn was ahead 26-13. He was only 1 of 4 in the second as the Bulls’ defense tightened, and the Nets took a 47-36 lead to halftime.The Bulls kept chipping away in the third, finally tying it at 65 on Butler’s 3-pointer with 3.6 seconds left in the third.Seemingly always battling injuries, the Bulls reported some good news Thursday when coach Tom Thibodeau said Gibson’s knee injury from Tuesday in Washington was just a slight sprain. Gibson had recently missed 10 games with a sprained ligament and felt similar pain when he was hurt Tuesday, but Thibodeau said he is day to day.He also said Rose looks better and more comfortable on the court, and is just waiting for when the former league MVP feels he is ready to go after missing all season while recovering from major knee surgery.The Bulls remain tough to beat even without him.

NOTES—The Bulls won the season series 3-1 and are a game behind the Nets in the loss column for the fourth spot.

The St. Louis Blues not only got a rare victory in the United Center, they also got a rare comeback victory against the league-leading. Defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk scored the deciding goal in the sixth round of the shootout and the Blues rallied for a 4-3 victory agaInst the Blackhawks on Thursday night.With the tiebreaker knotted at 3, Shattenkirk beat Corey Crawford with a wrist shot high on the goalie’s left side.Chris Stewart, Andy McDonald and Alexander Steen also connected in the shootout as the Blues overcame a 2-1 deficit after two periods and ended a seven-game (0-3-4) losing streak in Chicago dating to Feb. 3, 2010. The Blackhawks lost for only the third time this season (20-1-2) when leading after 40 minutes.The Blues’ Adam Cracknell scored his second goal of the game at 3:30 of the third, then David Backes connected 3:36 later — ending a personal 14-game streak without a goal — to put St. Louis ahead 3-2.But Viktor Stalberg swept in a rebound of Michal Rozsival’s shot with 4:31 left in regulation to tie the game at 3, force overtime and snap his streak of 14 games without a score.

“I think we did a great job reacting after their third goal,” Shattenkirk said. “In the first half of the year we would have let that affect us a little more, but I think we’ve done a great job recently of bouncing back from goals.”

The Blues (19-14-2) are in a tight race in the Western Conference to make the playoffs after posting 109 points last year. They wanted two points, not just one.

“We don’t like to give up leads in the third period, but the team across the hall has a lot of firepower and they never quit,” Backes said. “It was one of the more entertaining shootouts I think you’ll ever see.We’ll take the other point any way we can.”

The Blues matched the Blackhawks in three of the first five rounds of the shootout. After newly acquired Michal Handzus was stopped by Brian Elliot in the sixth frame, Shattenkirk won it.Cracknell’s two goals were his first this season, following his recall on Tuesday from Peoria of the AHL. He played in only his ninth NHL game this year, and entered the contest with four goals and six assists in 34 career NHL games.

“It was exciting getting the call a couple days ago, knowing we’re going to Chicago,” Cracknell said. “It was nice to contribute a couple goals.”

Elliott made 33 saves through overtime in his first start and second game since returning from a two-game conditioning stint in the minors.

“It’s a credit to him how tough he’s been working,” Backes said. “He’s found his stride again, and we’ll ride him as long as we can.”

Elliot had a league-leading 1.56 goals-against average and a franchise record nine shutouts last season. But he entered Thursday’s game with a 3.51 goals-against average, and 4-6-1 record.He relieved Jaroslav Halak in the Blues’ 4-1 victory at Minnesota on Monday, and stopped 19 of 20 shots to pick up his first win since Jan. 31. Halak left that game with a groin injury and is out indefinitely.Jonathan Toews scored his 18th goal early in the second period, then set up rookie Brandon Saad’s goal 2:27 later to give the Blackhawks a 2-1 lead going into the third period.Toews, Patrick Kane and Marian Hossa connected for the Blackhawks in the shootout.Crawford stopped 19 shots through overtime in his third straight start.

“It’s definitely not fun when you give up that many goals in the third period,” Crawford said. “I just didn’t feel that great in the shootout.”

Joel Quenneville wasn’t especially upset, although his team dropped to 15-3-4 in one-goal games.

“Third goal — I like the way we came back in the game as well. I thought we played well for the majority of the game.”

Hossa, one of the Blackhawks’ top forwards, returned after missing six games with an upper-body injury. Forward Patrick Sharp, who led the Blackhawks with 33 goals last season, sat out his 12th game with an injured shoulder.Cracknell scored with 3:57 left in a tightly played first period.Toews fought off two St. Louis defenders to tie it on a rebound at 3:18 of the second, only 19 seconds after the Hawks had killed a penalty. Toews set up Saad’s goal that made it 2-1 only 2:27 later.Cracknell’s second goal tied it at 2 and Backes scored his first goal since March 1 only 3:36 later, putting the Blues back up when he was left open at the edge of the crease and backhanded in a rebound of defenseman Jay Bouwmeester’s shot from the point.Stalberg scored his first goal since March 1 with 4:31 left to send it to overtime.

NOTES—Bouwmeester played his first game with the Blues after being acquired in a trade from Calgary on Monday….Handzus, acquired from San Jose on Monday, skated in his first game since the trade. He played eight games for for the Hawks in 2006-07 before being sidelined by a season-ending knee injury…..Elliott allowed three goals in his two games with Peoria of the AHL.

BEARS 2013 PRE SEASON SCHEDULE
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Aug. 8-11                  at Carolina Panthers                   Bank of America Stadium          TBD               Chicago Bears Network on WFLD-TV / WBBM Radio

Thur., Aug. 15           SAN DIEGO CHARGERS           Soldier Field                                                    7:00pm                                                ESPN

Aug. 22-25                at Oakland Raiders                      O.co Coliseum                           TBD               Chicago Bears Network on WFLD-TV / WBBM Radio

Thur., Aug 29            CLEVELAND BROWNS              Soldier Field                                                    TBD Chicago Bears Network on WFLD-TV / WBBM Radio

WASHINGTON—The Bulls, trying to get home-court advantage in the playoffs, suffered yet another injury and had Kirk Hinrich tossed in the fourth quarter.The Washington Wizards, vying to be the best team not in the playoffs, were about as healthy as they’ve been all season and have been unbeatable recently in front of the local crowd. That made the game about even.John Wall had another solid all-around game, and Emeka Okafor scored the go-ahead dunk in the final minute Tuesday night as the Wizards won their eighth straight at home, beating the temperamental Bulls 90-86.Washington wants to pass the Philadelphia 76ers and finish ninth in the Eastern Conference. Not bad for a team that started 4-28, but it’s the NBA equivalent of playing for the top seed in the NIT.Tuesday’s win left the Wizards 2 ½ games back of the 76ers — and 7 ½ back of the eighth-place Milwaukee Bucks — with eight to play.

“As funny as you might think it is, we’re not eliminated yet,” coach Randy Wittman said. “Stranger things have happened. Has anybody hit the Lotto in here? Let’s go buy some tickets.”

Yeah, right. Even Wall wasn’t buying that.

“We want to, but we know we probably gave, like, eight games away since I’ve been back,” Wall said. “Detroit twice, Charlotte, Orlando, Toronto, Minnesota. If we had won those games, we would be right there. We’re still fighting — we’re not going to give up on the season — but that’s a very long shot. We’ve probably got to win every game; they’ve got to lose every game.”

Wall finished with 27 points, nine assists, eight rebounds and three blocks. He’s averaging 23.7 points and 8.6 assists during the home winning streak. Nene, back after missing four games with a sore right knee, had 10 points and seven rebounds. One concern: Bradley Beal, in his second game since returning from a sprained left ankle, is still in pain.

“It was bothering me. It was hurting when I was warming up,” said Beal, who scored eight points. “When I had the fall in the second half, that’s when it started hurting the most. I was definitely favoring it in the second half.”

Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who fell two games behind the fourth-place Brooklyn Nets in the East. The Bulls visit Brooklyn on Thursday.One of the Bulls’ biggest challenges was having enough players to finish the game. Taj Gibson reinjured his left knee in the second quarter and will have an MRI on Wednesday, and Hinrich was ejected with 3:19 to play for picking up a pair of technicals.Gibson said the injury felt similar to the sprained MCL that caused him to miss 10 games recently. He returned on March 21 and is averaging 8.0 points on the season.

“Hopefully it’s not worse than before,” he said. “But it was real painful. It’s similar. But it depends on how it responds tomorrow.”

Hinrich was gone after teammate Nazr Mohammed was called for basket interference while tipping in a rebound, but the tantrum had nothing to do with the goaltending call.

“When I was complaining about a non-foul call, I got one,” Hinrich said. “And then the second one was very quick afterward. … In that situation, in the late game, you’ve just got to avoid that happening. I’ve got to bite my tongue and let it go.”

The Bulls was already without Derrick Rose (left knee), Joakim Noah (right foot), Marco Belinelli (abdominal strain) and Richard Hamilton (lower back).

NOTES—Wall had the block of the game, using his right hand to slap away Luol Deng’s fast-break layup attempt in the second quarter. “I don’t think a lot of people think I can chase down blocked shots, but I do a pretty good job of it,” Wall said….The Wizards’ home winning streak is their longest since a 10-game run from Dec. 13, 2006 to Jan. 20, 2007.

Defenseman Michal Rozsival scored in the fifth round of shootout after Jonathan Toews also connected in the tiebreaker, and the Blackhawks pulled out a 3-2 victory against the Nashville Predators on Monday.Rozsival, who hasn’t scored a goal this season, beat Pekka Rinne with a high shot in his first attempt in a shootout this season.Patrick Kane scored his team-leading 19th goal and rookie Brandon Saad scored in regulation to help the Blackhawks win their second straight.The Predators were outshot 27-11 through the first two periods, but stormed back in the third to erase a 2-0 deficit on goals by Dave Legwand and rookie Taylor Beck and force overtime.Craig Smith scored in the second round of the shootout for Nashville, but the Predators dropped their third straight (0-1-2).Corey Crawford made 25 saves.Rinne was sharp for a second successive game, stopping 38 shots through overtime.Nashville lost 1-0 in overtime in its previous game on Saturday, with Rinne stopping 23 shots.Kane has points in 10 of his past 11 games, posting seven goals and nine assists during the span.With the win, the Blackhawks improved to 27-5-3 and a league-leading 57 points, one more than Pittsburgh.The Blackhawks played again without two of their top forwards, Marian Hossa and Patrick Sharp, who are out with upper-body injuries. Hossa missed his sixth game and Sharp sat out his 11th.Before the game, the Blackhawks acquired center Michal Handzus from the San Jose Sharks for a fourth-round draft pick. Handzus had one goal and one assist in 28 games this season, and is eligible to be an unrestricted free agent this summer.Dave Bolland and Nashville left wing Gabriel Bourque left Monday’s games with injuries.Bolland originally went to the dressing room briefly midway through the first period after blocking a shot by Nashville defenseman Shea Weber. Following a faceoff in the Hawk zone, Weber’s drive from the point struck Bolland in the abdomen, but he returned minutes later for two more shifts in the first.Bolland then left again following two shifts in the second.The Predators said Bourque suffered an upper-body injury.Saad opened the scoring on a screened shot with 11.3 seconds left in the first following a faceoff in the Nashville zone.Toews won the draw, pulling it back to Niklas Hjalmarsson at the right point. He passed to Saad, who fired low from midway down the right boards with Toews and Nashville defenseman Jonathon Blum tied up at the edge of the crease.Rinne stopped several prime scoring chances early in the second. Among the saves was a quick left pad stop of Andrew Shaw four minutes in following a 2-on-1 break with Saad.Kane made it 2-0 with during 4-on-4 with 7:50 left in the second.He picked up a loose puck near the Hawk blue line, then skated down the right wing on a 2-on-1 break with Toews. Kane took the shot himself, and beat Rinne from the right circle.The Predators were dominated and outshot 18-4 in the second period, but bounced back and took charge in the third following Legwand’s goal at 3:56.Nashville’s Victor Bartley slid a slow shot on goal from center ice, and Crawford tried to smother the puck with his glove. But Legwand darted in between two defenders and poked the puck free and into the net to cut it to 2-1.Beck tied it at 2 only 3:30 later from the left of the crease.After taking a perfect cross-ice feed from Patric Hornqvist, Beck fired a one-time shot from 15 feet. Crawford sprawled and appeared to have stopped the shot, but the puck squirted free and barely crossed the goal line.Kane had a close-in chance in the final seconds of overtime.

NOTES—Both Hossa and Sharp participated in morning skate on Monday and could return Thursday against St. Louis. “They’re real close,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said. … Nashville C Mike Fisher missed his second game with upper-body injury. Prior to being sidelined, he had an eight-game point streak (five goals, four assists), his longest as a Predator. … Handzus was benched the past six games with San Jose as the Sharks tried to get more speed in the lineup. His biggest contributions came in shootouts where he converted three of seven chances. He played eight games for the Hawks in 2006-07 before being sidelined by a season-ending knee injury. … To make room for Handzus, the Blackhawks sent LW Brandon Bollig of the AHL the Blackhawks.

HOUSTON—Jack Pardee,who Coached the Bears from 1975 through 77 and one of Bear Bryant’s “Junction Boys” at Texas A&M who went on to become an All-Pro linebacker and an NFL coach, died Monday.He was 76.In November, Pardee’s family announced that he had gall bladder cancer that had spread to other organs and that he had six to nine months to live. The family has established a memorial scholarship fund in Pardee’s name at the University of Houston, where Pardee coached from 1987-89.

“Today, we mourn the passing of a great man who dedicated his life to the game of football and was a true gentleman in every sense of the word,” Houston athletic director Mack Rhoades said.

“It was not a coincidence that success followed coach and his teams wherever he worked, and the University of Houston program was blessed to have him lead our football program during some of our most exciting times.”

Pardee was born in Iowa and moved to west-central Texas as a teenager.The state endured a severe drought and an historic heat wave that year, but Bryant worked his team through the brutal conditions and refused to allow water breaks in an effort to toughen players. Pardee was one of 35 players who made it through to the end of the 10-day camp without quitting.Pardee played three seasons at Texas A&M and was the 14th overall pick in the 1957 NFL draft by Los Angeles. He played for the Rams from 1957-64, sat out a year to deal with melanoma, and played seven more seasons. He finished his playing career with the Washington Redskins in 1973 and coached the team from 1978-80.Before the NFL, Pardee coached the World Football League Florida Blazers. He was the Bears’ head coach for those three seasons, then moved to the Redskins and was fired after Washington went 6-10. Pardee served as San Diego’s defensive coordinator for one season, then returned to Texas to coach the USFL’s Houston Gamblers.When the USFL disbanded in 1987, Pardee became the coach at the University of Houston and brought along the fast-paced “Run-and-Shoot” offense that worked well with the Gamblers.The NCAA levied severe sanctions on the program in 1988, the result of violations committed under previous coach Bill Yeoman. Houston was banned from playing in a bowl game for two years and banned from playing on television in the 1989 season.But the Cougars led the nation in total offense (624.9 yards per game) and passing offense (511 yards per game) in 1989, and quarterback Andre Ware became the first black quarterback to win the Heisman Trophy. Houston finished 9-2 and ranked No. 14 in the nation.

“When you talk about the great offenses in the history of college football, coach Pardee’s run-and-shoot teams from the late 1980s must be considered near the top of that list,” Houston coach Tony Levine said.

“We continue to feel the impact from his innovative ideas and leadership of those teams in college football today, and our thoughts and prayers go out to all his family and friends.”

His Houston teams were a precursor to the high-flying offenses now common in college football. He coached the Cougars to a 95-21 win over a just-back-from-the-NCAA-death-penalty SMU team in 1989.The Cougars became the first team in NCAA history to finish with more than 1,000 yards of offense, as they piled up 1,021 yards in the win where Ware was on the bench by halftime.Pardee became the coach of the NFL’s Houston Oilers in 1990, and led the team to the playoffs in each of his first four seasons. Oilers owner Bud Adams traded star quarterback Warren Moon to Minnesota before the 1994 season, and Pardee resigned after a 1-9 start that year.He ended his NFL coaching career with a record of 87-77.Pardee’s last coaching job came when he worked for the Birmingham Barracudas of the Canadian Football League in 1995. His name emerged several years later for the Houston job, but the school hired Kevin Sumlin instead. Ted is the color analyst for Houston football radio broadcasts.

“When my father was diagnosed back around Thanksgiving, we were able to have many great conversations about the past and the future,” Ted said in a statement.

Pardee and his wife, Phyllis, were married for more than 50 years and have five children and 12 grandchildren.Funeral arrangements were pending Monday night.

Jimmy Butler and the Bulls relied on their hustle to keep their streak alive against the Detroit Pistons. Luol Deng scored 28 points, Butler and Nate Robinson each added 16, and the Bulls beat Detroit 95-94 to extend their winning streak to 18 straight against the Pistons. The Bulls rallied from a 13-point deficit to tie the score 78-all with 9:27 remaining on Butler’s dunk after a steal. Robinson then fed Deng for a layup and an 80-78 lead, their first advantage since 1-0. The Bulls came up with four of their 10 steals in the fourth quarter, including three by Butler.

“We dodged a bullet,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “We were fortunate, got out of a hole. … We were just trying to find a way in the end. I thought it was the hustle plays.”

Rodney Stuckey scored 25 points and Greg Monroe added 18 points for the Pistons, who have not beaten the Bulls since Dec. 23, 2008.Deng and Robinson each hit 3-pointers to extend the Bulls’ lead to 91-84. Stuckey’s layup cut the lead to one with 1:27 left before Deng had a layup for a 94-91 lead. Charlie Villanueva missed a 3 with 5.9 seconds left and Daequan Cook made a free throw. Stuckey made a 3 before the buzzer for the final margin. Butler bounced back from a disappointing game after he scored four points on 1-of-8 shooting in Saturday’s 100-98 loss to Dallas.

“It was tough. After 2 to 3 hours of sleep, I got here super early to shoot some free throws and some jumpers,” Butler said. “I don’t want to play like that. Nobody wants to play like that.”

The Bulls also rallied from 17-point deficits in each of its two previous games against Detroit this season. The Pistons last defeated the Bulls at the United Center on Feb. 24, 2006.

“We haven’t won too many against them,” Monroe said. “You want to end that streak. But we want to get any win right now versus any team.”

Detroit shot 50 percent (36 for 72) from the field while the Bulls shot 40 percent (30 for 76).

“We had some possessions on both ends you’d like to have back,” Pistons coach Lawrence Frank said. “But if we’ll give ourselves a chance, it’s a whole different spirit and intent compared to the way we played against Minnesota and Toronto. We have eight more opportunities to grow as a group.”

The Pistons jumped out to leads of 9-1 and 18-5, and led 24-20 after the first quarter. Cook hit a 3-pointer and a free throw with 15.5 seconds left before halftime to cut Detroit’s lead to 55-53.

Stuckey made a running jumper with 2.8 seconds left to put the Pistons up four at the break.

Detroit shot 60 percent from the field in the first half, while the Bulls were at 43 percent. Stuckey led the Pistons with 16 points and Deng led the Bulls with 12.The Bulls also struggled with free throws, missing 13 of 40. Carlos Boozer and Taj Gibson each added 11 points for the Bulls and Cook finished with 10. Villanueva had 14 and Jose Calderon added 11 for the Pistons, who went 1-13 in March.

“We definitely got better as far as not having a big lapse that pretty much cost us a game,” Monroe said. “We have to take tonight — there were a lot of good things even though we lost — and build up and get ready for Toronto tomorrow.”

Robinson and Pistons forward Kyle Singler each received technical fouls and Pistons guard Brandon Knight was called for a flagrant foul with 2:32 remaining in the first quarter after Knight was called for a travel and raised his arm, hitting Butler in the face. Robinson then appeared to push Knight, and Singler and other players joined the fray before the players were separated. Butler made both free throws to cut Detroit’s lead to 24-15. Butler said he thought Knight’s contact was unintentional. Robinson said he’ll stick up for his teammates.

“I got my guy’s back regardless,” Robinson said. “I’m not really worried about technical or whatever.”

Joakim Noah and Marco Belinelli again sat out for the Bulls. Noah has missed five straight games for plantar fasciitis in his right foot, and Belinelli has sat out four games with a strained abdominal muscle. Thibodeau said both players are day to day. Noah had career highs of 30 points and 23 rebounds against Detroit on Dec. 7.Will Bynum (hand) and Jason Maxiell (eye) were out for the Pistons. Maxiell remained in Detroit to get his eye examined.The Bulls went 7-7 in March.

NOTES—The NBA upgraded Gibson’s shooting foul against LeBron James in the Bulls’ 101-97 victory over the Miami Heat on Wednesday to a flagrant foul, according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel. The victory snapped Miami’s 27-game winning streak, the second longest in NBA history. “I guess we have to call the league and get clarification,” Thibodeau said. “I didn’t see it that way. I still don’t have a good understanding of what a flagrant foul is. I thought I got some clarity last year, but apparently I didn’t.” ….Calderon has a tendon problem in his arm that flared up, affecting his shooting, Frank said…..Knight returned for the Pistons from an ankle injury he suffered Friday.