Kyle Guice came off the bench to hit four 3-pointers, the last breaking a tie with 54.6 seconds left, and UIC defeated DePaul 80-75 on Wednesday night.Following a Blue Demon turnover, Marcus Ottey drove the left baseline and when he got to the basket he fired the ball to Guice in the right corner for the big shot. After both teams made two free throws, DePaul had three chances, missing two shoots in the final 12 seconds and then turning the ball over on an inbounds pass under the basket with 5.9 seconds left.Tai Odiase, a 48 percent free throw shooter who made the steal, sealed the game with two from the line.Odiase and Tarkus Ferguson had 12 points apiece for the Flames (5-5) and Ottey had 11.DePaul (5-4), which led 43-35 at the half- but shot 30 percent in the second half – got 27 points from Eli Cain and 26 from Billy Garrett.There were 14 ties and 15 lead changes.

NEW YORK—Scott Darling is more comfortable in his second full NHL season and he’s been coming up big for the Blackhawks with starting goalie Corey Crawford out.Darling stopped 33 shots, Artem Anisimov scored the tiebreaking goal late in the second period and the Central Division-leading Blackhawks beat the New York Rangers 2-1 on Tuesday night.Darling has started the last six games while Crawford has been recovering from an appendectomy. Darling has been stellar over the last four games, allowed just three goals on 116 shots while helping the Blackhawks go 3-0-1.

”You just get into a rhythm, you get comfortable, not as nervous,” said Darling, who upped his record to 7-2-2 this season. ”You can just relax and have fun out there. … Last year was my first full year. I was still nervous about my role, my position within the organization. Coming back now, I’m not one of the new guys, I’ve been here for 2 1/2 years.”

The Rangers had some chances in the final minutes, but Darling stopped Mats Zuccarello’s slap shot with about 3 minutes to go, and then a tip-in attempt by Jimmy Vesey less than a minute later.

”The guys did a good job of keeping a lot of it from the outside,” Darling said. ”They had their chances and so did we. … It was a fun game, a great hockey game and a big two points.”

Trevor van Riemsdyk also scored, Artemi Panarin had two assists and Anisimov had one as the Hawks got even with New York following a 1-0 overtime loss at home to the Rangers last Friday.Jesper Fast scored for the Rangers and Antti Raanta, starting for the fourth straight game, made 24 saves. Raanta had won three consecutive starts, including shutouts in the last two. New York had won four of its last five.

”I think it was pretty much the same deal as it was Friday night in Chicago,” Raanta said. ”Two teams, both have good offenses and both love to play with pace. They got a couple odd-man rushes there; they got two goals from those and we didn’t capitalize on our chances. A 2-1 loss, it’s not a great way to lose the game when it’s so close.”

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews was activated from injured reserve earlier in the day after missing nine games with an injury.Anisimov put the Blackhawks ahead for good with 1:09 left in the middle period, taking a centering pass from Brian Campbell in front and firing it past Raanta for his 13th goal.

”I just play my game, go hard to the net,” said Anisimov, who was drafted by the Rangers in the second round in 2006 and spent parts of four seasons in New York from 2008-12. ”This is my first team in the NHL, it’s a special feeling when you score here.”

After a scoreless first period, the Hawks got on the scoreboard at 5:18 of the second as van Riemsdyk took a pass from Panarin and wristed it past Raanta for his first of the season. It ended Raanta’s shutout streak of 176:22.The Rangers tied it less than 3 minutes later when Fast, standing at the left side of the net, batted the puck out of the air for his third at 8:15.Vesey had a chance for the Rangers on a rush minutes before the Hawks goal, but Darling made a nice pad save on his attempt.

”He made some key saves as the game went on,” Blackhawks coach Joel Quenneville said.

NOTES—Toews had four goals and eight assists in 21 games before he was injured in the Hawks 2-1 loss at San Jose on Nov. 23. The Blackhawks were 5-2-2 in his absence. The 28-year-old center has no points in his last six games, and just two assists in his last nine. … Campbell’s assist on Anisimov’s goal was his 16th assist and 20th point in 40 games against the Rangers. … New York starting goalie Henrik Lundqvist was the backup in a fourth consecutive game for the first time in his career. … The Rangers were without D Ryan McDonagh due to an illness. He was replaced in the lineup by Adam Clendening. … Rick Nash missed his fourth straight game due to a groin injury and Rangers coach Alain Vigneault was optimistic about getting Nash back soon….The Blackhawks face the New York Islanders on Thursday night in Brooklyn.

Tom Thibodeau got a loud ovation during pregame introductions before his first game back in Chicago, and his Timberwolves made it a triumphant return.Zach LaVine scored 24 points, Andrew Wiggins added 23 and Minnesota rallied to beat the Bulls 99-94 on Tuesday night.The Timberwolves wiped out a 21-point deficit and got Thibodeau a victory in his first game in Chicago since the Bulls fired him in an acrimonious split in 2015.

”There were far more great times than there were real problem times,” Thibodeau said. ”In the end, it didn’t end great, but most of the time things were good. I’m proud of what our team did. I loved being here and that’s how I look at it.”

Gorgui Dieng and Karl-Anthony Towns each scored 16 points, and the Timberwolves snapped a four-game losing streak.Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 27 points, and Robin Lopez added 14. But the Bulls continued a pattern of letdowns against losing teams, this time falling to one that came in tied for the NBA’s worst record. And, of course, they lost to their former coach.

”There wasn’t really any emotions, it was just about trying to get a win,” Chicago’s Taj Gibson said. ”Trying to keep them down. That’s a struggling team.”

That wasn’t what the Timberwolves expected when they hired Thibodeau. After all, the Bulls went 255-139 and made the playoffs in all five of his seasons, including a run to the 2011 Eastern Conference finals with MVP Derrick Rose leading the way.

”I know what these guys are doing in there,” Thibodeau said. ”I know what I’m doing in there. And that’s all that matters. If we’re doing each and everything you can do every day, that’s all that matter.”

The Timberwolves looked like they were going to get blown out, down 38-22 after the first quarter and trailing by 21 in the second. Instead, they closed the half on a 22-5 run to pull within four.Minnesota was leading 91-87 in the game’s closing minutes when Butler threw down an alley-oop dunk off a feed from Dwyane Wade in transition and nailed a fadeaway jumper off a steal to tie it with 1:34 remaining.Wiggins then hit a pullup jumper and LaVine scored on a reverse layup to make it 95-91 with 52 seconds left.Wade picked up two technical fouls and was ejected with 14.1 seconds left after his driving layup was blocked by LaVine. Butler also got called for a foul on the play.It all led to Ricky Rubio hitting two technical free throws and LaVine making two foul shots to make it 99-91, sealing the win for Minnesota.

”It was frustration and I told the truth, so I got kicked out,” Wade said.

”I feel like we’re good enough to have those results. We’ve been in every game. We were winning or really close throughout almost every game that we’ve played, so it shows that record could be flipped. There are a lot of games we should have won.” – LaVine on the Timberwolves’ expectations.

NOTES—The Timberwolves had allowed at least 100 points in nine straight games. … The 38 points were the most the Timberwolves allowed in the first quarter this season. That also matched a season high for any quarter. … Nemanja Bjelica played nine minutes after missing the previous two games because of a sore right ankle…..The Bulls are 5-6 against teams with losing records. … G Rajon Rondo sat out the game because of a sprained right ankle after landing awkwardly near the end of practice on Monday. … Coach Fred Hoiberg said G Michael Carter-Williams has a ”pretty important” doctor’s appointment on Friday that could determine if he returns from left wrist and left knee injuries next week. He has been sidelined since Oct. 31…..The Bulls visit Milwaukee on Thursday,then host the Bucks Friday night

DETROIT—Matthew Stafford got a shotgun snap, dropped back, slid left, rolled right and ran up the middle through three defenders with a shot to stop him.Stafford’s go-ahead, 7-yard touchdown with 3:17 left made up for his two interceptions in the fourth quarter, one that was returned for a score, and helped the Detroit Lions beat the Bears 20-17 Sunday.The Lions have become the first team in NFL history to have eight comeback wins from fourth-quarter deficits in a season.

”Finding ways to win is what we do,” Stafford said.

Stafford usually does it with his right arm.With the middle finger on his right hand taped up and covered by a white glove, Stafford struggled to throw at times. When it was time to run and score, he wasn’t going to stop himself short of the end zone.

”It’s fourth quarter, go time, you’ve got to make a play,” Stafford said. ”I surely wasn’t going to slide on the 2.”

The NFC North-leading Lions (9-4) have won five straight and eight of nine, moving them a step closer to winning a division title for the first time in 23 years.

”Our goals are much bigger than winning this game,” receiver Anquan Boldin said.

Matt Barkley completed two passes that put the Bears in a position to at least attempt a tying field goal in the final minute, but both were negated by flags, before turning the ball over on downs from the Detroit 44.

”You can’t really recover from two holding penalties back to back,” said Bears guard Ted Larsen, who was called for holding, as was left tackle Charles Leno.

The Bears’ opportunity of pulling off an upset were also hurt by three penalties for pass interference for a total of 74 yards, helping Detroit score both of its TDs.The Bears(3-10) have lost four of five, playing a lot of young players in place of banged-up veterans.

”Eventually, this is going to help us,” Bears coach John Fox said. ”And this experience will help those individual players.”

Barkley , in the first road start of his career, perfectly led Cameron Meredith on a 31-yard TD to pull the Bears within three late in the third quarter. He completed 20 of 32 passes for 212 yards.

”There’s no issue of effort or wanting to win,” Barkley said. ”You can really see the fire and the drive is there.”

Stafford was picked off twice after he threw only one interception the previous eight games. Demontre Hurst intercepted Stafford’s pass in Chicago’s end zone after it ricocheted off teammate Bryce Callahan and receiver Golden Tate early in the fourth quarter. Cre’Von LeBlanc returned an interception 24 yards midway through the fourth to put Chicago up 17-13.Stafford finished 21 of 35 for 223 yards with a TD. Stafford said he hurt his finger, which he expected to be X-rayed, in the first quarter when his hand collided with linebacker Leonard Floyd.

”I don’t think he’s going to let a finger stop him,” Boldin said.

Detroit has matched its longest winning streak since starting 5-0 in 2011, and its best nine-game stretch since winning eight of the last nine games in 1995. The Lions have given up 20 or fewer points in seven straight games in one season for the first time since 1961…..Stafford threw a tiebreaking, 16-yard TD pass to Boldin with 19 seconds left in the first half. It was the 1,063 reception of Boldin’s career, moving him past Andre Johnson for 10th place on the NFL’s all-time list. The 14-year veteran has helped Detroit overcome the retirement of star receiver Calvin Johnson……Receivers Eddie Royal (toe) and Marquess Wilson (groin) were inactive due to injuries, taking two more players away from a depleted team. Cornerback Tracy Porter (illness) and defensive lineman Eddie Goldman (ankle) left the game with ailments…. Running back Theo Riddick was inactive with a wrist injury and was replaced in the starting lineup by rookie Dwayne Washington, who had season highs with 16 carries and 64 yards rushing. Linebacker DeAndre Levy was active for the first time since Week 1, returning from a knee injury. Defensive end Ezekiel Ansah left the game in the second quarter with an injured right shoulder, but returned to play in the second half.

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Marian Hossa, Artem Anisimov and Artemi Panarin scored to lead the Central Division-leading Blackhawks over the Dallas Stars 3-1 on Sunday night.Scott Darling made 23 saves in his fifth straight start while No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford recovers from an appendectomy. Darling has permitted just seven goals during the stretch, but the Blackhawks have scored only nine while going 2-2-1.Devin Shore scored for Dallas, which lost its second straight and third in four.Dallas’ Kari Lehtonen blocked 24 shots while making his fifth straight start.The 37-year-old Hossa scored his team-leading 15th goal and has three in three games.Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews missed his ninth game and defenseman Brent Seabrook his second with injuries.Both took part in the team’s morning skate on Sunday, with Toews getting back on the ice for the first time in a week. The center, reportedly dealing with a back injury, said he never has experienced his current condition before.

”You almost have to sit around and wait for it to heal and get better,” Toews said. ”Sometimes you feel good and all of a sudden you do some little movements here or there that seem to just fire everything up.”

Dallas defenseman Jamie Oleksiak sat out the first game of a two-game suspension for an illegal check to the head of Flyers forward Chris VandeVelde in the third period of the Stars’ 4-2 loss at Philadelphia on Saturday.Defenseman Johnny Oduya returned to the Stars’ lineup after missing 10 games with a lower-body injury and took Oleksiak’s place.The teams played a scoreless first with only a handful of chances. Darling made a quick right pad save on Curtis McKenzie’s point-blank deflection with 6:30 left in the period.Shore opened the scoring at 1:25 of the second, batting in a loose puck to cap an odd-man break and flurry around the Hawk’s net. After McKenzie deflected Shore’s feed wide, John Klingberg shoveled the puck in front to Shore, who connected from the doorstep.Hossa tied it at 1 just 52 seconds later on a drive from left wing that trickled under Lehtonen’s blocker.Anisimov knocked in a rebound of Ryan Hartman’s point-blank attempt with 7:30 left in the second for his 12th goal to put the Hawks ahead 2-1. After leaving the penalty box and taking a long feed from Trevor van Riemsdyk, Hartman beat defenseman Stephen Johns and cut in alone. Lehtonen stopped Hartman’s low shot, but Anisimov swept in and scored before Johns could recovery.Panarin’s power-play goal midway through the third made it 3-1. Positioned low in the left circle, Panarin ripped in his 11th goal from a sharp angle – and just inside the left post – after taking a perfect feed from Duncan Keith.

NOTES—Dallas coach Lindy Ruff said ”he didn’t even notice” Oleksiak’s hit on VandeVelde. ”Most coaches (would) view it as not that bad a hit,” Ruff said. … Dallas and former Blackhawks F Patrick Sharp sat out his fifth game with concussion-like symptoms. Ruff said the 34-year-old Sharp is going ”full bore” skating and working out on his own, but there’s no timetable for his return. … Stars D Dan Hamhuis played his 900th game. … The Hawks head to New York to play the Rangers on Tuesday and Islanders on Thursday. The three-game road trip concludes at St. Louis on Saturday.

Dwyane Wade wearing a Bulls uniform never will look right to Miami coach Erik Spoelstra. On nights like this, it’s particularly painful.Wade scored 28 points against his former team, Jimmy Butler led the way with 31 and the Bulls held off the struggling Heat 105-100 on Saturday.Butler scored the Bulls final 10 points to help the Bulls come out on top after Miami pulled within one.Wade, the 12-time All-Star and three-time NBA champion with Miami, keyed a big third-quarter run in his second game against the Heat. He and the Bulls hung on after handing San Antonio its first road loss two nights earlier.

”I’ve seen it for so many years on our side,” Spoelstra said. ”He showed his competitiveness and the variety of his menu. He was going into the post, he was playing pick-and-roll basketball – he puts a tremendous amount of pressure on your team defense. He’s got all the talent in the world, but what really makes Dwyane is his intellect for the game. He knows where the defense is going to be, and he knows the moves before you even make them.”

Goran Dragic led Miami with 21 points and 11 assists, and an energetic Hassan Whiteside added 20 points after being benched for part of Friday’s blowout loss in Cleveland. Tyler Johnson scored 15, but the Heat dropped their fifth straight.Johnson cut it to 97-96 when he nailed a 3-pointer with 4:20 left. Butler then drove for a three-point play and hit another free throw to make it 101-96, but the Heat weren’t finished.A layup by Dragic and basket by Whiteside in the lane cut it to 101-100 with 13 seconds remaining. Butler then hit two free throws to boost the lead back up to three.With a chance to tie, Dragic and Josh Richardson botched a handoff near the top of the key. Butler got the steal and hit two more foul shots with less than a second left to seal the win.

”In this league, there are going to be some nights you’re going to play amazing, and there are going to be some nights where you play just well enough to get a win,” Wade said. ”Never begrudge a win. We played good enough to get a win tonight.”

Wade let out a smile after he was fouled by Whiteside on a soaring dunk after splitting two defenders for a three-point play during an 18-2 run in the third. Wade scored 11 during that spurt.

Floyd Mayweather took in the game and was shown on the video board during the third quarter.Udonis Haslem rejoined Heat after they let him miss Friday’s game at Cleveland to watch his son win a state football championship. The 14-year veteran got to see Kedonis Haslem, a 6-foot-4, 290-pound lineman, and Fort Lauderdale St. Thomas Aquinas pound Plant 45-6 in the Florida Class 7A final. ”He’s missed all of his son’s important playoff games and championship games, senior year,” Spoelstra said. ”U.D. has been in 13 years of service with us and you miss so many moments that we felt that this would be a moment that he wasn’t going to miss and regret years from now.” … Spoelstra said Whiteside has been dealing with knee and hip issues as well as ”a couple other things.” … Miami was 5 of 20 on 3-pointers and 11 of 18 at the foul line.

NOTES—The Bulls were just 1 of 8 on 3-pointers but hit 28 of 31 free throws, with Butler going 15 for 16. … The Bulls, who began the night second to Denver in rebounds per game at 48.6, had 47. …The Bulls had dropped three straight at home to Miami. … The Bulls are 6-1 at the United Center against Eastern Conference teams…..The Bulls host Minnesota and Thom Thibodeau on Tuesday night.

Nick Holden scored 55 seconds into overtime, Antti Raanta made 26 saves against his former team and the New York Rangers beat the Blackhawks 1-0 on Friday night.Derek Stepan passed from the boards to a streaking Holden in the middle of the ice, and he beat Scott Darling on the stick side for his fourth goal of the season.Darling was going for his second straight shutout while subbing for injured starter Corey Crawford but had to settle for another solid performance.Raanta, who made his NHL debut with the Hawks in 2013 and played for the Blackhawks for two seasons before he was traded to New York, improved to 15-0-3 in 20 career appearances at the United Center.The 27-year-old Raanta had 17 saves in Thursdays 2-1 victory at Winnipeg, and coach Alain Vigneault opted to give him a second straight start over Henrik Lundqvist because of his recent play and his success in the United Center.Marian Hossa appeared to have the go-ahead goal for the Blackhawks when he shot it between the legs of Rangers defenseman Ryan McDonagh and Raanta 6 minutes into the third. But Vigneault challenged the play and it was waived off when a replay review showed Hossa was offsides.The Blackhawks played without defenseman Brent Seabrook, who was sidelined by an upper-body injury. Captain Jonathan Toews missed his eighth straight game with an upper-body injury, and Crawford missed his fourth in a row after he had an emergency appendectomy last weekend.New York forward Rick Nash was sidelined for the second straight game by an upper-body injury. Nash is tied for second on the Rangers with 11 goals.While each team was missing some star power due to injuries, Raanta and Darling put on quite a show.Raanta made a great glove save on Patrick Kanes one-timer early in the first and had a dazzling stop on Richard Paniks wide-open look in the middle in the second. The 6-foot-6 Darling made a couple terrific saves in rapid succession in the second, denying Stepan on the doorstep before getting over to knock away Jesper Fasts prime opportunity on a 2-on-1.Raanta got some help in the third when Mats Zuccarello swept a loose puck away from the goal line with 2:20 left.

NOTES—Rangers F Jimmy Vesey returned to the lineup after missing a game with an upper-body injury. Nash, D Adam Clendening and RW Josh Jooris were scratched. … Blackhawks D Michal Kempny was a healthy scratch. … The Rangers and Blackhawks play again on Tuesday night in New York….The Blackhawks hosts the Dallas Stars on Sunday night.

Marian Hossa was back on top of his game and the Blackhawks got back in control of theirs.Hossa had two goals, Scott Darling made 22 saves and the tight-checking Blackhawks beat the Arizona Coyotes 4-0 on Tuesday night to snap a two-game slide.Artem Anisimov and Dennis Rasmussen also scored to help the Hawks maintain a three-point lead over St. Louis in the Central Division.The 37-year-old Hossa scored his team-leading 13th and 14th goals in his 27th game – surpassing his total of 13 last season in 64 contests.

”I feel more recharged, and with the puck going in, you feel more confident,” Hossa said. ”But I try not to be just a goal scorer. I try to play both ways and even if I don’t score in a bunch of games, I try to make some plays for the team.”

And the Blackhawks turned in one of their better defensive and puck management efforts this season, according to coach Joel Quenneville.

”I like what we gave up tonight – not much,” Quenneville said. ”When we check well and don’t play much in our own end, we generally play well and we have the puck a lot more. Tonight was a good step.”

Darling made a handful of tough stops but wasn’t heavily tested in his first shutout this season and third of his career. He started his third straight game in place of No. 1 goalie Corey Crawford, who had an appendectomy in Philadelphia on Saturday.

”I can’t remember one extremely good Grade-A chance that we gave up,” Darling said. ”The guys were great, the D were great, the forwards were great on defense.It feels good, especially that one. It was a team shutout.”

Mike Smith blocked 23 shots as the Coyotes lost their fifth straight and completed a quick road trip, playing their second game in two nights. Arizona lost 4-1 on Monday night at Columbus with Louis Domingue in goal in the second contest of a home-and-home set with the Blue Jackets.

”Playing in back-to-back games, we did not have the energy we needed to get back into the game,” coach Dave Tippett said. ”We do not make enough plays to get anything done, whether it is defensively or offensively.”

Blackhawks captain Jonathan Toews sat out his seventh straight game with an upper-body injury. Quenneville said earlier on Tuesday he hopes Toews will rejoin the Blackhawks when they travel to New York next week to face the Rangers and Islanders.Brent Seabrook left with an injury with 6:38 left in the second period following a hit from Jordan Martinook that threw him awkwardly against the boards.

”We’ll see how is he is tomorrow,” Quenneville said.

Anisimov’s power-play tip-in from the edge of the crease with 4:23 left in the first period opened the scoring. He was set up by Patrick Kane’s pinpoint feed from the lower right corner and deflected the puck just under Smith’s pads.Barely a minute after Darling made a point-blank save on Tobias Rieder, Hossa and Rasmussen struck for goals 19 seconds apart early in the second to boost the lead to 3-0.

”It was the turning point of the game for sure,” Tippett said. ”As the game went on, our energy wasn’t there.”

Hossa flashed his skill to complete a 2-on-1 with Ryan Hartman at 6:26 that made it 2-0. Hossa controlled Hartman’s cross-ice pass with his right skate, kicked it to his stick and then stuffed a shot under Smith’s glove from the edge of the crease.Smith stopped Richard Panik from the doorstep moments later, but Panik jumped on the rebound behind the net and shoveled it in front to Rasmussen.Hossa completed the scoring by converting a breakaway with 3:16 left. He beat Smith with a wrist shot on the stick side after being sent in by Niklas Hjalmarsson’s pass.

NOTES—Referee Gord Dwyer left after the first period with an illness. … Crawford, expected to miss two to three weeks, has begun off-ice exercises. … Arizona entered having allowed a league-high 850 shots. … Trevor van Riemsdyk played in his second contest since being activated from IR last Friday and missing 20 games. He skated at Philadelphia on Saturday, but sat out Sunday against Winnipeg. … Michal Kempny and Michal Rozsival were healthy scratches, as were Arizona C Tyler Gaudet and D Kevin Connauton…..Blackhawks host the New York Rangers on Friday night.

AUBURN HILLS—In the long run, Andre Drummond and Reggie Jackson are going to be the most important players on the Detroit roster.Tuesday, though, they were spectators.Pistons coach Stan Van Gundy went with his bench in the fourth quarter against the Bulls, and they outscored the Visitors 31-19 to pull out a 102-91 victory.

”It’s tough for guys like Andre and Reggie to have to watch a close game down the stretch, because they want to be out there,” Van Gundy said. ”Marcus (Morris), too, but the bench guys were doing such a good job that I couldn’t take them off the floor.”

Tobias Harris, who led Detroit with 22 points, was the only Pistons starter to get his usual playing time in the final 12 minutes. He was joined by Ish Smith, Darrun Hilliard, Aron Baynes and Jon Leuer.

”Tobias was scoring and Ish got us 10 assists, but it was mostly great defense,” Van Gundy said. ”That group took the game away from the Bulls.”

Drummond added 15 points and 10 rebounds for the Pistons, who won for the fourth time in five games.Jimmy Butler scored 32 points and Dwyane Wade added 19 points and seven assists for the Bulls, who lost their third straight. They were playing their fourth game in five nights and struggled in the fourth quarter.

”We battled back from a 17-point deficit and took the lead into the fourth,” Fred Hoiberg said. ”That just takes so much energy out of you. We have to stop digging holes for ourselves.”

Drummond dominated early, scoring 10 points on three dunks and two tips. Even when he went to the bench with foul trouble, the Pistons put together an 11-0 run to lead 36-21 early in the second quarter.Rajon Rondo had 10 points in his return to the lineup.Detroit maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second period, but the Bulls rallied after Jackson picked up his third foul. The Pistons were ahead 51-44 at the half, thanks to a 16-6 edge on points off turnovers. Drummond had 14 in the half, while Butler had 16 for the Bulls.The Bulls were within 51-50 in the first two minutes of the third, and took a 72-71 lead into the fourth. Butler and Taj Gibson both had eight points in the period, while Drummond didn’t score for Detroit.Hillard’s 3-pointer capped Detroit’s 12-3 run to start the fourth, giving the Pistons an 83-75 lead with 7:28 to play.

”We had things rolling and Coach let us keep going,” Leuer said. ”You appreciate that as a player, if you get it going and you are allowed to ride it out.”

The Pistons pulled away down the stretch against the weary Bulls.

”We’ve just got to win a couple games,” Butler said. ”When we do that, everything will be fine and dandy again.”

Rondo missed Monday’s loss to Portland due to a team suspension.Due to his foul problems, Jackson only played 10 minutes in the first half. He’s still on limited minutes after missing the season’s first 21 games with knee tendinitis, and played eight minutes in the second half. Ish Smith played the entire fourth quarter.Leuer, normally Detroit’s sixth man, only played seven minutes in the first half, and Van Gundy blamed himself. ”I was trying to keep Tobias away from Jimmy Butler and screwed up my rotation. As it turned out, it didn’t matter who guarded Jimmy, but we should never have a half where Jon only plays seven minutes.”

The Bulls visit the Charlotte Hornets on Wednesday.

CHAMPAIGN—Malcolm Hill made sure Illinois didn’t repeat past mistakes in the final minutes of the team’s 85-77 win over IUPUI on Tuesday night.When the Jaguars’ Darell Combs banked in a 3-point shot with 2:24 left in the game, Hill had a flashback to Illinois’ 84-80 loss to Winthrop. Hill took charge and scored 32 points – 23 in the second half – to help the Illini hold off the Jaguars.

”Put the ball in his hands,” Tracy Abrams said. ”He’s a great player, one of the best in the country, and we have to give him the ball.”

Illinois (7-3) shot 55 percent from the field and 7 of 16 from 3-point range.The Illini opened with a 10-0 run but committed eight turnovers, allowing IUPUI to rally to a 42-41 halftime lead.Mike Thorne Jr. hit a jumper, Hill dunked and Illinois pulled ahead in the second half by shooting 60 percent from the field.Leron Black scored 16 points and grabbed nine rebounds. He was a presence throughout the game, including a key rebound with 23 seconds left, despite battling foul trouble.Although Illinois won, coach John Groce said he wasn’t pleased with his team’s effort.

”I feel fortunate we were able to get out of there with a win,” Groce said. ”We didn’t have the same edge we have on Saturday . we made too many mistakes.”

Matt O’Leary led IUPUI (3-6) with 25 points, shooting 7 of 15 from the field and 4 of 9 from beyond the arc.The Jaguars also kept the battle at the board close, losing 29-28.CIUPUI coach Jason Gardner said he wasn’t happy with the end result but was proud of the way his team fought back after falling to a 10-0 Illini start.

”We gave ourselves a chance to be right there,” Gardner said. ”You never want to be excited about losses, but I think it’s one of those deals where I was pleased with their performance and how they played tonight.”

The Illini have rebounded well after a week where they went 0-3. If Illinois can win out the rest of its nonconference schedule – Central Michigan, BYU and Missouri – the team will be in good shape heading into Big Ten play.The Jaguars will try to salvage a difficult road trip. They face a few challenging games, including one against Northwestern, before returning to equal competition.D.J. Williams played eight minutes and scored five points off the bench. The sophomore has recently found it hard to get some playing time, but he provided some energy when the Illini lacked some.Mike Thorne brought in an offensive rebound and was fouled when he scored on a layup with 5:22 left in the game and the score tied at 68. He made the free throw and the Illini followed that up with a Hill breakaway layup to take a 73-68 lead.

”Every good team has that one crazy person and (Leron Black) is our crazy person.” Malcolm Hill.

The fighting Illini have the next few days off before entering the final stretch of their nonconference season when they play Central Michigan on Saturday afternoon.