NBA ROUNDUP : Bulls Are Best in East After Beating Pistons

Scottie Pippen scored 23 points and the Chicago Bulls overcame a 14-point deficit to defeat the Detroit Pistons, 92-86, on Monday night at Auburn Hills, Mich., for their seventh consecutive victory.

Pippen also finished with nine rebounds and nine assists, barely missing his third triple-double of the season. His efforts were enough to send the Pistons to their 16th loss in 17 games, and their ninth in a row at home.

The victory gave the Bulls the best record in the Eastern Conference, a half-game ahead of the Atlanta Hawks and one game in front of the New York Knicks.

Joe Dumars scored 25 points and Terry Mills 19 for Detroit, and they combined for 21 points in the first quarter, helping the Pistons take a 30-18 lead. Detroit pulled ahead, 36-22, early in the second period before Pippen scored eight points and Steve Kerr six as Chicago ended the half with a 24-10 run, tying the score, 46-46.

“In the first half, we were very active defensively, and we gave a great passing exhibition,” Piston Coach Don Chaney said. “Neither was there in the second half. Maybe our defense let up, and gave them easier shots. Maybe their defense picked it up, and stopped our passing game. I just don’t know.”

Utah 95, Seattle 90--Karl Malone had 26 points and 16 rebounds, John Stockton had 18 assists at Salt Lake City.

The SuperSonics, 4-4 after starting the season 26-3, came out strong against the Jazz, taking a 31-19 lead after one quarter. But Utah pulled ahead for good with a 19-1 run in the first 5:35 of the second quarter.

Gary Payton scored 18 points and Detlef Schrempf, Shawn Kemp and Ricky Pierce each scored 14 for the SuperSonics.

Boston 110, Dallas 102--Rick Fox scored 22 points at Boston to help the Celtics beat the Mavericks for the second time in six days and extend their season-best winning streak to five games.

It was much easier than last Wednesday’s 89-84 victory in which the Mavericks had a chance to tie with 17 seconds left, but Jamal Mashburn’s three-point shot went long.

This time, the Celtics took the lead for good with a 6-0 run that made the score 61-56 with 8:57 to play in the third quarter. They extended the margin to 75-65 with a 7-0 run that ended with 4:11 remaining in the period.

The Mavericks (2-37) have lost their last 14 games.

Milwaukee 96, Indiana 88--Jon Barry came off the bench to score a career-high 23 points, 12 of them in the final nine minutes, to help the Bucks rally at Indianapolis.

With his father and brother taking a night off from the CBA to attend, Barry came off the bench to make six of eight shots and 11 of 13 free throws.

Rick Barry, an NBA Hall of Famer, coaches the CBA’s Ft. Wayne Fury, where his son Scooter is a starting guard.

“That was the first time my dad has seen me play in the NBA,” Jon Barry said.

He treated his family to a career night, also making five steals.

The Bucks came back from a 10-point deficit with less than nine minutes to play to win for the third time in four games.

Reggie Miller led the Pacers with 26 points, but did not get off a shot in the fourth quarter against Barry.