Brandon Knight scored 20 points Sunday night to help the Pistons snap an 18-game losing streak against the Bulls with a 99-85 victory. The loss dropped Chicago two games behind Brooklyn in the race for the fourth seed and a chance to host a first-round series in the Eastern Conference playoffs.

Jonas Jerebko added 17 points and a season-high nine rebounds for the Pistons, who also ended an eight-game home skid.

The Bulls led by as many as 11 points in the first quarter but Detroit gradually caught up and took the lead in the second after starting the period on a 12-4 run.

“From that point on, we started to get stops and get out in transition,” coach Lawrence Frank said. “We made a lot of winning-type plays and played with a lot of intensity.”

The Pistons took a 50-46 lead to intermission and pushed it to as many as 10 in the third quarter. Knight scored a dozen points in the period, including a 3-pointer that killed Chicago’s last good chance at getting close. Detroit scored the first four points of the fourth and never let the Bulls get closer than 10 points the rest of the night.

“It felt good,” said Knight, who’d seen the Pistons drop the first three games of the series against Chicago by a combined eight points.

“We were the team to not make mistakes and capitalized on their mistakes.”

Jerebko and Charlie Villanueva (12 points) sparked a bench that outscored Chicago’s 33-12.

Rodney Stuckey, starting in place of injured point guard Jose Calderon, had 14 points and rookie Andre Drummond, who shot airballs on two late free throws in a one-point loss at Chicago on March 31, added 10 rebounds for Detroit.

Carlos Boozer had 21 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls, who played without leading scorer Luol Deng. Coach Tom Thibodeau wasn’t feeling sorry for his team, which has been missing former league MVP Derrick Rose all season.

“You can’t use that as an excuse,” he said. “Whoever is out there, we have to go out and get the job done.”

Nate Robinson added 18 points and Jimmy Butler scored 14 as Chicago’s two-game winning streak ended. Two of the Bulls’ last six games are against playoff-bound teams, the same number Brooklyn faces.

The teams will not see each other before the postseason.

Deng, the Bulls’ leading scorer and the NBA’s leader in minutes per game, missed the game with a sore hip. Thibodeau said the decision to bench him was “precautionary.”

Chicago’s Joakim Noah, who missed eight games with an injured right foot, and Marco Belinelli, who was out seven with an abdominal strain, each returned Sunday night. Noah finished with 13 points and seven boards.

The Bulls were aiming to match the franchise record for consecutive victories over an opponent, which also was against the Pistons. Michael Jordan’s 1990s teams won 19 in a row against Detroit.

The Pistons treated home fans to their first win since the All-Star break. They hadn’t won at the Palace of Auburn Hills since Feb. 13.

Game notes

Calderon, who had started all 28 games since Detroit acquired him in a Jan. 30 trade, missed the game with a right triceps strain. … Chicago’s last loss to the Pistons was Dec. 23, 2008. … The Bulls used their 13th different starting lineup.

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The pained expression and the negative body language were the result of another Bulls loss, this one in embarrassing fashion.

Tyreke Evans had 26 points and seven assists in the Sacramento Kings’ most lopsided victory of the season, a 121-79 rout of the Bulls on Wednesday night.

The Kings opened the second quarter with a 26-4 run against the lethargic Bulls to hike their lead to 34 points. It was an almost error-free first half for the Kings, who committed just one turnover and took a 65-36 lead into intermission.

The Bulls have dropped a season-high five straight road games and have a 7-12 record since beating Milwaukee on Jan. 30. It was the most one-sided loss all season for Chicago and Sacramento’s largest margin of victory ever against the Bulls.

“It was embarrassing, man. It’s hard to put into words,” Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said.

Boozer will get no argument from Thibodeau. The Bulls shot 38 percent, missed 19 of 21 3-point attempts, and committed 17 turnovers.

However, what was not in the stat sheet afterward was effort. The Bulls were lacking in that department as well.

“Our level of intensity was very poor. Our readiness to play was very poor,” Thibodeau said. “But I’m probably most disappointed in me. It’s my job to have them ready. We can’t come out like that, that’s on me. I have to drive (them) harder and I will.”

Boozer scored 21 points and Nate Robinson had 19 for the slumping Bulls, who lost their second straight and fourth in five games.

Short-handed Chicago played without injured forward Taj Gibson (knee) and veteran guards Richard Hamilton (back) and Kirk Hinrich (foot), who are all out indefinitely.

“We’re not playing well offensively or defensively,” said Joakim Noah, who had six points and nine rebounds. “It’s no time to make excuses (about injuries). We need to find a way to bounce back. We just have to move on fast and get ready for Golden State (on Friday). They are a lot better team than this team (the Kings).”

The Kings shot 54 percent, had a season-low five turnovers and scored 27 fast-break points. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it was the Kings’ largest margin of victory since Jan. 2, 1993, when they beat the Philadelphia 76ers 154-98.

Making his first start of the season, Patrick Patterson had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Jason Thompson had 12 points for the Kings, who snapped a five-game losing streak against Chicago.

“I was just picking and popping and my teammates were finding opportunities for me,” said Patterson, who came to the Kings in a February trade with Houston. “I was just being in the right place at the right time.”

At least for one game, it mattered very little that Sacramento played without DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings’ leading scorer and rebounder. He missed the game due to a sore left knee.

Cousins picked up his 12th technical foul of the season and was ejected from Sunday’s game against Milwaukee after picking up a Flagrant 2 for elbowing Mike Dunleavy in the head.

Though there was speculation Cousins would be suspended by the NBA and miss the game, the volatile center was spared of his third league suspension this season.

“We just opened the court up a little more (with Cousins out) and had our guards attack,” guard Isaiah Thomas said. “We were in attack mode from the jump. We know they’re a great defensive team and we wanted to just stay back in attack mode. I think Tyreke started it off and that got me going a little bit, then other people got going.”

There was no letting up in the third quarter for the Kings, who didn’t allow the Bulls to cut into their 29-point deficit. Thomas had 11 points and continued to push the tempo for Sacramento, which took a 93-60 lead into the fourth.

Evans had 18 points in the first half, when the Kings shot 58 percent. Sacramento began the second quarter with an 11-2 run and the lead remained in double figures the remainder of the game.

“It’s not so much the winning or losing right now, it’s the way we’re playing,” Noah said. “Is it the readiness? I wish I knew.”

It was a horrible first half at both ends of the court for the Bulls, who shot 35 percent, committed eight turnovers, and allowed 15 fast-break points. Boozer was the only bright spot for Chicago with 16 points.

Patterson helped get the Kings off to a fast start, making all five shots and scoring 11 first-quarter points. Sacramento shot 65 percent in the opening quarter and led 34-20.

“We need to get our swag back; get our confidence back,” Boozer said. “The only people that can fix it are in this room. (Maybe) we need a game like this to wake us up. The playoffs will be here in the blink of an eye.”

Game notes

Former league MVP Derrick Rose worked out before the game. Rose, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last April, is still contemplating a return to the Bulls this season. . Evans has averaged 23.7 points in his last three games. . Kings reserve forward James Johnson missed his second straight game due to personal reasons. . Attendance was 14,426. … Marco Belinelli missed all nine shots for the Bulls, including five 3-point attempts.

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Chicago At Indiana
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 3, 2013
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, WCIU (Chicago)
PREDICTION: Pacers 96, Bulls 92

Oddsmakers currently have the Pacers listed as 6½-point favorites versus the Bulls, while the game’s total is sitting at 180.

The post duo of Carlos Boozer (15.6 points, 9.3 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (12 points, 11.4 rebounds) has carried Chicago the past two games. Leading scorer Luol Deng (16.4 points, 6.7 rebounds) was slowed Saturday after taking a shot to the mouth in Thursday’s win over Philadelphia, and guard Richard Hamilton (back spasms) has missed the past two games and is not expected to travel to Indiana.

Chicago won its last outing, a 96-85 result against the Nets on March 2. The Bulls covered in that game as a 4.5-point favorite, while the 181 combined points took the game OVER the total.

Chicago:
Team record: 34-25 SU, 26-33 ATS
Current streak: won 2 straight games.

The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 7 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 6 games

When playing on Sunday are 3-7
Before playing San Antonio are 9-1
After playing Brooklyn are 6-4
After a win are 4-6

Indiana is one of the top defensive teams in the league but has shown improved offensive prowess recently. The return of forward Danny Granger has helped in that regard, but the former All-Star has averaged just 6.8 points in four games as he eases back into action from a knee injury. Leading scorer Paul George (17.8 points, 7.9 rebounds) blossomed into a star during Granger’s absence and forward David West (17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds) is having another strong season.

The Pacers were a 93-81 winner in their most recent outing on the road against the Raptors. They covered the 2-point spread as favorites, while the total score (174) made winners of UNDER bettors.

Indiana:
Team record: 37-22 SU, 34-25 ATS

is 19-3 SU in its last 22 games at home
is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Chicago
is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Chicago

When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing Boston are 7-3
After playing Toronto are 6-4
After a win are 8-2

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The Bulls already are without two starters in Kirk Hinrich (elbow) and Derrick Rose, who is still recovering from ACL surgery. The Bulls lost to the Brooklyn Nets minus those four players on Friday but came back on Saturday to beat the Hawks in Atlanta.

“I feel pretty good, but just give it a couple more days and try to go on Thursday [at Denver],” Noah said before Monday’s shootaround. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go tonight, but I’m just moving in the right direction and hopefully by Thursday I’ll be ready to go.”

Noah has missed the past two games with plantar fasciitis, the same injury he dealt with for most of the season three years ago. He believes he caught the injury much earlier this time.

“The one in [the 2009-10 season] I just kept playing through it,” Noah said. “I kept playing through it, I probably played with it for a month until I couldn’t anymore.

“This [time], I stopped a lot earlier. I probably played on it for maybe five, six games and I just knew what direction it was going in. In [2009-10], I just tried to act like it wasn’t there and just play through it and it was a mistake. I feel like with a couple more days of treatment I think I’ll be OK.”

That treatment includes rest — something Noah has tried to get plenty of over the last few days.

“Rest, ice, laser treatment,” he said. “I actually shot around [Sunday], but no jumping, no running, just resting really.”

Noah is confident that with some more treatment he can get rid of the problem for the rest of the year.

“I feel like you definitely learn from your experiences,” he said. “I’ve been through this before so I kind of know what to expect and I’ve gotten all the treatment for this before, and I’m hoping that a couple more days rest and I’ll be back at 100 percent and I won’t have to deal with this anymore.”

As for Boozer, he seems more confident he may be able to play Monday night. He has missed the past three games because of the hamstring injury that he originally suffered in the first quarter a week ago against the Bobcats.

“It will be a game-time [decision], but I feel good,” he said. “If it feels good, I’ll be out there.”

Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau officially termed both players as game-time decisions, but he also sounded more confident that Boozer would be able to play.

“He’s feeling better,” Thibodeau said of Boozer. “We’ll see where he is tonight. Each day he’s gotten better, he’s close.”

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Belinelli came up big in the closing minutes, scoring eight points during an 18-4 run that broke a 75-75 tie and sent the Lakers to their ninth loss in 11 games.

He started it by hitting two free throws after getting fouled by Dwight Howard with 6:54 left in the game and wrapped two 3-pointers around a layup by Los Angeles’ Earl Clark, making it 89-79 with 2:27 remaining.

The Lakers have now dropped six straight on the road, and this one came after coach Mike D’Antoni shook up the lineup. He moved forward Pau Gasol to a reserve role and replaced him with Clark, but the slide continued on a night when Kobe Bryant and Howard were mostly nonfactors.

Hinrich hit 9 of 11 shots and nailed three 3-pointers. Belinelli and Nate Robinson (11 points) also hit three, and the Bulls were 9 of 17 overall from long range.

Joakim Noah added 13 rebounds and six blocks after sitting out the final 22 minutes, 53 seconds of Sunday’s loss to Memphis.

Carlos Boozer chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds. Richard Hamilton scored 13, although he shot just 6 of 18. Jimmy Butler, making his second straight start with Luol Deng (sore right hamstring) sidelined, scored 10. And Chicago won this one in regulation after playing three straight overtime games.

Steve Nash led the Lakers with 18 points, but Bryant finished with just 16 on 7-of-22 shooting. That ended a run of 24 games with 20 or more points.

Howard, meanwhile, had just eight points and nine rebounds while picking up five fouls. Clark and Metta World Peace scored 12 apiece, and Gasol added 15 points and 12 rebounds in his new reserve role.

D’Antoni made the switch because he wanted a quicker lineup. Even so, it was an eye-opening move, considering Gasol scored 25 at Toronto on Sunday.

“It isn’t against him, it’s better for us right now,” D’Antoni said before the game. “We’re going to try to work through it and see what we can do. Things do change, things happen, I can’t see the future but we’re ready to go forward.”

Game notes

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said star PG Derrick Rose is “very close” to starting full contact drills in practice, the next step in his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Could it happen this week? “Yeah — it could,” Thibodeau said. Is it scheduled to happen this week? Thibodeau said, “It could.” He also said Rose will have to go through full-contact drills “for an extended amount of time” and that he won’t be playing after “one or two days of contact.”

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Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 20 rebounds, and Joakim Noah added 14 points and 13 boards as the Bulls won their 14th straight road game on a Friday. They haven’t lost since April 2011.

Rajon Rondo scored a season-high 30 points for Boston before fouling out with 1:16 to play in overtime.

Kevin Garnett had 16 points and Paul Pierce passed former Celtics star Robert Parish for 22nd on the NBA’s career scoring list by chipping in 13 points. Pierce has 23,342 points and Parish 23,334.

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Reserve forward Mike Scott scored 10 points to lead Atlanta as none of the starters reached double figures. Josh Smith and Kyle Korver had nine points each.

Jeff Teague had a layup with 7.9 seconds left to prevent the Hawks’ lowest scoring total in franchise history.

Atlanta has lost five straight on the road and six of seven overall.

The Bulls held the Hawks to just five points in the second quarter and led 48-20 at the break. Ivan Johnson had a basket for the Hawks with 2:54 left in the first quarter, and Atlanta did not score again until Al Horford’s tip with 5:15 left in the second. The Hawks missed 17 consecutive shots during the drought while getting outscored 14-0.

They finished the 2 for 21 from the field in the second quarter, with Smith making a free throw and a jumper for Atlanta’s other points. The Hawks shot 20.5 percent on 8-of-39 shooting in the first half. Josh Smith was 3 for 10 Horford 2 for 8 in the opening two periods.

Boozer had 14 points and Deng eight to help the Bulls to their halftime lead. Noah had 12 rebounds in the half and finished with 16 and nine points.

The Bulls set a record for the fewest points allowed, eclipsing the previous mark of 59 by Orlando last March 19. Atlanta’s 20 points in the first half also set a Chicago record for the fewest allowed in a half, bettering the 22 scored by the Knicks in 1999. The Bulls also limited New York to five points in the second quarter of that game.

The Hawks’ previous scoring lows were six points in a quarter (at Minnesota) in 1994, 25 in a half — accomplished three times, most recently against New Orleans in 2011.

Tensions heated up in the third quarter. After Hamilton was called for an offensive foul on Devin Harris, Harris pushed Hinrich hard to the floor as he was attempting a layup. Hinrich had to be restrained by teammates after he rushed toward Harris, who was called for a flagrant one. In seperate incidents, Teague and Smith were called for technicals in the third quarter.

Taj Gibson, who had five blocks, got fans on their feet with a thunderous dunk over Anthony Tolliver to put the Bulls up 79-47 with 7:13 left.

Game notes

The Bulls’ biggest lead was 44 points. … In the teams’ last meeting, the Hawks beat the Bulls 92-75 in Atlanta on Dec. 22. … Hawks G Anthony Morrow missed the game with a lower back injury.

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Following one missed shot, the ball rolled between forward Carlos Boozer’s legs as he fell on his backside, yet he still managed to scoop it up and feed a teammate for two more second-chance points for Chicago.

Dominating on the glass and the hardwood, the Bulls became only the third visiting team to win in Miami this season, beating the Heat 96-89 on Friday night.

Chicago outrebounded Miami 48-28. The Bulls had 19 offensive rebounds to four for the Heat.

“Everybody in both locker rooms understands what the overwhelming key to the game was,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They were throwing it up there and playing volleyball against us.”

The Eastern Conference-leading Heat fell to 15-3 at home. Their other home defeats came against the Knicks and Warriors.

“It always feels good to beat the Heat,” said center Joakim Noah, who had 12 rebounds. “And we get a night out in the city, so we’re hyped right now. We haven’t been playing great basketball and this is probably our biggest win of the year against the defending champs. It feels good.”

The first meeting between the teams this season was a bruiser, and the Bulls repeatedly outfought and outfoxed Miami on the boards.

The Heat, who are last in the NBA in rebounds, had won four games this season when outrebounded by 15 or more. But this time the disparity beat them.

“It’s just the will of going to do it,” LeBron James said. “It’s a reoccurrence. You give a team like this extra possessions, they’re going to capitalize.”

James scored 30 points, extending his streak of scoring at least 20 points to 31 consecutive games this season, and 52 games in a row overall when including last year’s playoff run. He has scored at least 25 in eight consecutive games.

But he had just six rebounds, which led the Heat. Boozer had 12 rebounds for Chicago, and Taj Gibson added nine in 17 minutes.

The Bulls’ final offensive rebound helped seal the win. Jimmy Butler grabbed it and fed Boozer for a layup with 46 seconds left to put them up 93-86.

Chicago had 20 second-chance points to seven for Miami.

“It’s killing us, plain and simple,” said Heat center Chris Bosh, who had one offensive rebound in 38 minutes. “Is it scheme? Is it mental? We’d better figure it out.”

Boozer scored 27 points after totaling a season-high 31 on Wednesday at Orlando. Noah, back after missing one game with flu-like symptoms, had 13 points.

They set the tone with their physical play.

“I don’t know if that small ball is going to work against us,” Noah said. “Not with guys like Carlos Boozer in the game.”

While the Heat were often on their heels, they kept coming back. A jarring foul by Kirk Hinrich near the sideline staggered James and he collapsed on the Bulls bench, then was helped to his feet by coach Tom Thibodeau.

Seconds later, James sank a 3.

Noah drew a flagrant foul when he tackled James around the neck with one arm to stop a drive early in the fourth quarter. The violation led to a four-point possession for the Heat, with James sinking four consecutive free throws.

The next time Miami had the ball, James drove for a dunk that cut Chicago’s lead to 75-72. But the Heat got no closer.

“We understand how important rebounding is,” Thibodeau said, “and it showed tonight.”

Chicago won with more than mere muscle. The Bulls’ 5-foot-9 Nate Robinson made a leaping interception of a James pass, then smartly bounced the ball off Miami’s Shane Battier to avoid traveling. The ball dribbled out of bounds, allowing Chicago to keep possession.

Robinson’s 3-pointer with 6 1/2 minutes left gave the Bulls their biggest lead, 83-73.

The Bulls pounded the boards from the start and scored the final 10 points of the first quarter for a 26-22 lead. Butler’s buzzer-beater to end the first half put them up 49-48.

Marco Belinelli sank a 3-pointer to put Chicago up 75-66 after three quarters.

The Heat had won their past two games, both in overtime, but the Bulls wouldn’t let them get to OT.

Game notes

Regarding All-Star voting, James said with a chuckle: “It looks like I’m going to be a starter. Surprising.” … The Bulls are 9-8 home and 9-5 on the road. … Chicago improved to 8-1 on the road against the Eastern Conference.

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