Game #72, Sat, 03/27 Bulls vs Nets

They made it through the first step unscathed, rolling past New Jersey 106-83 on Saturday night at the United Center. Now the Bulls head to Auburn Hills, Mich., to take on the Detroit Pistons, who have dropped 14 of their last 16.

"I think we played with a little edge to us tonight," center Joakim Noah said. "They're not a great team, but it doesn't matter. We've lost to this team before, so it was important for us to come with the right mentality, and we did.

Thanks to Carmelo Anthony's shot at the buzzer to beat Toronto on Friday, the Bulls (34-38) find themselves just 11/2 games behind the Raptors for the final playoff spot in the East. Toronto plays at Miami and Charlotte on Sunday and Monday, so the Bulls could make up ground quickly if they can beat Detroit.

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With rookie forward James Johnson out with a partial tear of the plantar fascia in his right foot, coach Vinny Del Negro turned to a small starting lineup. Jannero Pargo got the call to start with Kirk Hinrich, while Rose usually guarded the small forward spot.

It worked out fine, with Pargo scoring a season-high 27 points. He started the night shooting a disappointing 34.2 percent for the season but knocked down 10 of 19 shots Saturday.

"I think all year, I've been thinking too much and not really playing my game," Pargo said. "Coming into the game tonight, I said, 'Forget it, I'm just going to play the game and take whatever's there.' Fortunately, I was able to come through."

Rookie power forward Taj Gibson delivered another impressive performance, finishing with 22 points, 13 rebounds and 2 blocks in just 26 minutes of action. Gibson collected 14 points in the first quarter alone and sent both Yi and Kris Humphries to the bench with early foul trouble.