Zach LaVine’ scores 51 points but Pistons win

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 Detroit Pistons overcame a career-high 51 points from Zach LaVine to beat the Chicago Bulls 118-102 on Saturday night.

"I'm feeling really comfortable in my second season, but that's not because of me," said Duren, who doesn't turn 20 until Nov. 18. "My teammates and coaches have helped me make the game a lot easier."

LaVine's effort was the first 50-point game of the NBA season and made him the first Bulls player with 50 points and no assists since Michael Jordan did it against the Miami Heat on Nov. 6, 1996.

"It's our third year here together, and we know how this business is," LaVine said. "We all love each other. DeMar (DeRozan) is one of my best friends, and we talk all the time, but we have to figure out how to make this work."

LaVine played 38 minutes in Friday's loss and had eight points, five rebounds and one assist. 

The former star is in his tenth season in the NBA and is coming off a year where he averaged 24.8 points, 4.5 rebounds and 4.2 assists per contest while shooting 48.5% from the field and 37.5% from the three-point range.

After finishing the season with a 40-42 record, the Bulls (who were the tenth seed in the Eastern Conference) beat the Raptors in their first play-in tournament game.

Bulls have proven All-Stars in LaVine, DeRozan and Nikola Vučević, and they’ve done some star stuff with DeRozan’s transcendent game saving fourth quarter against Toronto and LaVine Saturday.

“Obviously, I wasn’t happy with the way I was performing and the way the offense was looking,” said LaVine about his seven of 30 shooting start in the first two games. “So I came out wanting to be real aggressive. Obviously, I got it going. It’s upsetting you have a performance like that and lose. It sucks.”

Billy Donovan marveled at LaVine’s easy brilliance with 19 of the Bulls 26 first-quarter points, and then 20 more in the third quarter.

The Pistons shot 60.5% from the floor while building a 57-45 lead. LaVine had 19 points in the first quarter, but didn't score in the second. Detroit had a 25-12 edge in bench points, with Burks and Marvin Bagley III getting nine each.

Duren's double-double was the 22nd of his career, breaking a tie with LeBron James for the third most by a teenager in NBA/ABA history. Moses Malone had 50 and Dwight Howard finished with 46.

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