Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - D.J. Augustin had 12 of his 24 points in the 
fourth quarter and the Chicago Bulls rallied past the Detroit Pistons, 106-98, 
on Friday night. 

Joakim  Noah  tallied six  points, 12  rebounds and  10 assists, Carlos Boozer 
supplied  18 points and seven boards and Taj Gibson netted 11 of his 17 points 
in  the final frame for Chicago, which locked up home-court advantage in their 
first round playoff series. 

"With  Augustin and  Taj Gibson,  it's  like playing  against seven  starters. 
Augustin  finishes every game for them and Gibson is as active and athletic as 
any power forward in the league," Pistons head coach John Loyer said. 

The Bulls,  who have won  seven in a  row, are one  game ahead of Toronto for 
third  place in  the Eastern  Conference following  the Raptors'  loss to  the 
New York Knicks earlier on Friday. 

"You  have to  win games  differently.  Obviously the  rebounding and  defense 
wasn't  there, but  I thought the offense was," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau 
said. 

Andre  Drummond registered 26 points and 26 rebounds for the Pistons, who have 
dropped  four of  their last  six  tilts. Rodney  Stuckey added  22 points  in 
defeat. 

Chicago  trailed by  18 at  the break  and 83-75  early in  the fourth  before 
ripping  off 15 straight  to go in front. Augustin had eight points during the 
surge,  including  six consecutive  at  one  point  before Butler  finished  a 
backdoor layup to give the Bulls their first lead, 85-83, with 7:28 left since 
it was 2-0. 

Augustin  capped the  burst with  a  pair of  free  throws for  a 90-83 Bulls 
advantage midway through the frame. They held Detroit without a point for 4:30 
during the swing. 

Chicago,  which outscored Detroit 36-18 in the final frame, pushed the lead up 
to as many as 10 down the stretch. 

Earlier,  the Pistons raced  out to a 14-5 start and led 28-17 after a quarter 
of play before heading into the break with a 56-38 spread. 

Stuckey's runner at the third-quarter buzzer gave Detroit an 80-70 lead. 

                                   Game Notes 

The Bulls shot  49.4 percent (40-of-81) from the floor and sunk 21-of-23 foul 
shots ... Drummond had 13 points in the fourth ... Detroit held a 56-44 points 
in the paint advantage.