Bulls inch closer to Pistons for Eastern Conference lead

CHICAGO (AP) -- Kirk Hinrich hit two of three free throws with 2.8 seconds left, and the Chicago Bulls pulled out an 83-81 victory over the Detroit Pistons after blowing a 12-point lead in the fourth quarter on Thursday night.
After Tayshaun Prince tied it with a put-back with 9.8 seconds left, Hinrich caught a pass at the top of the key and got fouled by Carlos Delfino on a 3-point attempt.
Hinrich missed the first free throw but hit the next two.
After a timeout, Prince caught the inbounds pass and launched a short pull-up jumper over Luol Deng as time expired.
It was the fourth straight win for the Bulls and their 11th in 14 games. Chicago trails Eastern Conference leader Detroit by three games and second-place Cleveland by a half game, with the Cavaliers visiting the United Center on Saturday.
Ben Gordon led the Bulls with 25 points, and Ben Wallace grabbed 19 rebounds against his former team.
Prince scored 26 points for Detroit.
Battling back
With a 77-65 lead and about five minutes remaining, the Bulls appeared to be in control. But the Pistons were within 81-79 with 48 seconds left after Chauncey Billups drove by Hinrich.
Rasheed Wallace then stole the ball from rookie Tyrus Thomas with 35 seconds left, and Prince put back Delfino's missed jumper to tie it at 81.
Thomas had arguably his best game, finishing with 13 points and 10 rebounds, and Hinrich scored 15. Luol Deng finished with 16 points after scoring a career-high 38 in Monday's win over Portland.
The Pistons were without stars Richard Hamilton and Chris Webber, who were back home with the flu. Hamilton didn't make the trip. Webber returned earlier in the day.
Rasheed Wallace scored 19 points, but picked up his 19th technical after Ronald Murray was called for a foul with 6:45 left in the third quarter.
Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.