DETROIT — The Detroit Pistons continue to prove it doesn’t matter who is out in the court, they’re going to compete.
And that’s what the Pistons (28-9) did despite missing three starters, [including star guard Cade Cunningham](https://www.mlive.com/pistons/2026/01/cade-cunningham-to-miss-4th-game-veteran-wing-returns-for-pistons.html), Wednesday night against the Chicago Bulls.
Big man Isaiah Stewart — the reigning Eastern Conference Defensive Player of the Month — was an offensive force, scoring a career-high 31 points to lead the Pistons to a 108-93 win over the Bulls.
Stewart shot 14-of-17 from the field and paced an offense that struggled at times to be consistent, but found its moments amid another elite defensive performance.
Chicago (17-20) only shot 43% from the field and turned the ball over 17 times off 10 steals and eight blocks by the Pistons. Duncan Robinson added 12 points, while Ron Holland and Ausar Thompson scored 11 a piece and combined for 13 rebounds, three blocks and two steals.
The Pistons were a bit slow to start, needing Robinson and Paul Reed to get going with makes from beyond the arc.
Chicago was pummeling the paint early with its first six baskets of the half coming from down low.
But it became a clash in the paint as Stewart started exerting his influence in a big half for the Pistons’ typical defensive stalwart. He started creating space for himself against the Bulls’ Nikola Vucevic for crafty finishes at the rim.
Stewart led all scorers with 17 points in the first half on 8-of-11 shooting. If not for a quick pair of fouls early in the second quarter, Stewart may have knocked on the door of his first 20-point half.
The Bulls kept pace the entire first half with Ayo Dosunmu posting 15 to open and relying on a lot of extra opportunities. Chicago out-rebounded Detroit 45-39 and had 15 offensive boards.
Big man Paul Reed — who’s been key in the absences of Jalen Duren and Tobias Harris — had some important contributions setting up Robinson for his third triple late in the half and turning a Thompson steal into a quick lay-in.
Thanks in large part to some clean basketball, turning the ball over three times to Chicago’s nine, the Pistons held the slim 52-50 lead at the half.
Sloppy play started to catch up with the Pistons in the third quarter as they turned the ball over five times and the Bulls capitalized for seven points. Chicago opened on a 17-8 run and tried to establish a steady lead.
Stewart drained a pair of three-pointers to keep his big night going. However, the Pistons fell back on their trusted defense to claw back in as Holland and Javonte Green started an 11-5 run to close the quarter that included two blocks and a steal Detroit turned into points.
The Pistons regained their lead off the bat in the fourth as Holland drained a three-pointer for a 79-77 advantage.
Rookie Chaz Lanier came in for some rare meaningful court time and made the most of his opportunity, scoring five quick points off a pull-up jump shot and a three-pointer. He added another make from deep in the final five minutes to give the Pistons their first double-digit lead of the night.
A career scoring performance was secured for Stewart as Daniss Jenkins — who had a career-high 15 assists — nabbed the offensive rebound from his own miss and lobbed it up for an easy dunk.
The Pistons defense drove them to the finish as they held the Bulls to 6-of-18 shooting in the final period.
Despite another night where Detroit was missing key playmakers, the team’s identity of defense-first basketball came through and delivered a third straight win for the Pistons.
[**BOX SCORE**](https://go.skimresources.com?id=126006X1587345&xs=1&xcust=jacob-richman%7C&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.nba.com%2Fgame%2Fchi-vs-det-0022500517%2Fbox-score%23box-score&product_category=Sporting+Goods%3EAthletics%3EBasketball)
**Up next:** The Pistons are back at LCA for the third straight game on Saturday, taking on the Los Angeles Clippers. Detroit lost the first matchup with the Clippers in LA off an historic night from Kawhi Leonard.