CHICAGO -- — Nikola Vucevic had 28 points and 14 rebounds, Matas Buzelis scored 21 points and the Chicago Bulls regrouped after blowing a 23-point lead to beat the Detroit Pistons 115-111 in their opener Wednesday night.

Josh Giddey added 19 points and 11 assists, and the Bulls went from leading by 23 in the second quarter to knotted near the end of the game.

Detroit’s Ron Holland II tied it at 105 when he made a 3 with just under three minutes remaining. Vucevic hit an 8-footer that Detroit’s Cade Cunningham answered with a fadeaway jumper.

Buzelis threw down an alley-oop dunk before Cunningham drove for a layup that tied it 109. Vucevic then made a hook to put Chicago back on top with 1:31 remaining.

Giddey had a chance to make it a four-point when he got fouled with 34 seconds remaining. But after making the first free throw, he missed the second.

Detroit got the rebound, and Cunningham drove for a layup to pull the Pistons within one. He then was charged with a foul trying to poke the ball from Giddey after a successful challenge by Chicago.

Giddey hit both free throws to make it 114-111 with 14 seconds remaining. Cunningham and Tobias Harris missed 3s, and Giddey made 1 of 2 free throws with three seconds left to seal it.

Cunningham scored 23 points. Isaiah Stewart added 20 points and 10 rebounds, and Holland had 19 points.

Jalen Duren finished with 15 points after picking up two fouls in the game’s opening minutes, and the Pistons opened a promising season on a sour note. Detroit has its sights set higher after going from 14 wins to 44 last year in one of the greatest turnarounds in NBA history. The Pistons lost to New York in the first round of the playoffs.

It didn’t help Detroit that Jaden Ivey is recovering from surgery on his right knee. But Chicago was also down a star, with Coby White expected to miss at least the first six games due to a strained right calf.

Up next

Pistons: At Houston on Friday night.

Bulls: At Orlando on Saturday night. ------

AP NBA: https://apnews.com/hub/NBA

Play By Play

Recent plays and game events

TIME	PLAY
12:00	Jalen Duren vs. Nikola Vucevic (Tre Jones gains possession)	0	0
11:39	Nikola Vucevic makes 5-foot layup (Tre Jones assists)	2	0
11:24	Jalen Duren makes alley oop dunk shot (Cade Cunningham assists)	2	2
11:06	Matas Buzelis makes layup (Isaac Okoro assists)	4	2
10:57	Jalen Duren offensive foul	4	2
10:57	Jalen Duren turnover	4	2
10:46	Nikola Vucevic makes 7-foot driving floating jump shot (Tre Jones assists)	6	2
10:32	Jalen Duren makes alley oop dunk shot (Cade Cunningham assists)	6	4
10:20	Josh Giddey bad pass (Cade Cunningham steals)	6	4
10:15	Cade Cunningham makes two point shot	6	6
9:57	Tre Jones misses driving layup	6	6
9:56	Nikola Vucevic offensive rebound	6	6
9:56	Nikola Vucevic misses tip shot	6	6
9:56	Nikola Vucevic offensive rebound	6	6
9:56	Jalen Duren shooting foul	6	6
9:56	Nikola Vucevic makes free throw 1 of 2	7	6
9:56	Isaiah Stewart enters the game for Jalen Duren	7	6
9:56	Nikola Vucevic makes free throw 2 of 2	8	6
9:39	Cade Cunningham misses 4-foot two point shot	8	6
9:37	Josh Giddey defensive rebound	8	6
9:27	Isaac Okoro misses driving floating jump shot	8	6
9:25	Isaiah Stewart defensive rebound	8	6
9:09	Cade Cunningham misses 14-foot pullup jump shot	8	6
9:06	Isaiah Stewart offensive rebound	8	6
8:57	Matas Buzelis blocks Tobias Harris 's 5-foot driving layup	8	6
8:55	Matas Buzelis defensive rebound	8	6
8:49	Isaiah Stewart personal foul	8	6
8:34	Josh Giddey misses 21-foot jumper	8	6
8:34	Bulls offensive team rebound	8	6
8:34	shot clock turnover	8	6
8:18	Cade Cunningham makes 12-foot pullup jump shot (Isaiah Stewart assists)	8	8
8:09	Tobias Harris shooting foul	8	8
8:09	Matas Buzelis makes free throw 1 of 2	9	8
8:09	Kevin Huerter enters the game for Tre Jones	9	8
8:09	Matas Buzelis makes free throw 2 of 2	10	8
7:49	Tobias Harris makes 8-foot two point shot	10	10
7:34	Ausar Thompson blocks Josh Giddey 's 1-foot layup	10	10
7:32	Ausar Thompson defensive rebound	10	10
7:30	Kevin Huerter personal foul	10	10
7:21	Isaiah Stewart makes 1-foot layup (Cade Cunningham assists)	10	12
7:21	Bulls Full timeout	10	12
7:08	Josh Giddey makes 10-foot driving floating jump shot (Nikola Vucevic assists)	12	12
6:50	Duncan Robinson misses 25-foot three point jumper	12	12
6:50	Josh Giddey defensive rebound	12	12
6:29	Isaiah Stewart blocks Isaac Okoro's driving layup	12	12
6:26	Isaac Okoro offensive rebound	12	12
6:24	Josh Giddey makes 25-foot three point jumper (Isaac Okoro assists)	15	12
5:58	Tobias Harris misses driving layup	15	12
5:56	Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound	15	12
5:49	Cade Cunningham shooting foul	15	12
5:49	Josh Giddey misses free throw 1 of 2	15	12
5:49	Bulls offensive team rebound	15	12
5:49	Ayo Dosunmu enters the game for Matas Buzelis	15	12
5:49	Caris LeVert enters the game for Ausar Thompson	15	12
5:49	Josh Giddey makes free throw 2 of 2	16	12
5:30	Cade Cunningham misses driving layup	16	12
5:28	Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound	16	12
5:21	Kevin Huerter makes 22-foot three point jumper (Josh Giddey assists)	19	12
4:59	Cade Cunningham misses 25-foot three point jumper	19	12
4:55	Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound	19	12
4:49	Nikola Vucevic makes 25-foot three point jumper (Josh Giddey assists)	22	12
4:49	Pistons Full timeout	22	12
4:49	Patrick Williams enters the game for Isaac Okoro	22	12
4:49	Ronald Holland II enters the game for Duncan Robinson	22	12
4:26	Isaiah Stewart misses driving layup	22	12
4:24	Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound	22	12
4:13	Kevin Huerter misses 26-foot three point jumper	22	12
4:10	Tobias Harris defensive rebound	22	12
3:59	Isaiah Stewart makes alley oop layup (Caris LeVert assists)	22	14
3:51	Nikola Vucevic makes 26-foot three point jumper (Josh Giddey assists)	25	14
3:32	Josh Giddey blocks Isaiah Stewart 's 6-foot two point shot	25	14
3:29	Isaiah Stewart offensive rebound	25	14
3:28	Isaiah Stewart misses 5-foot two point shot	25	14
3:28	Nikola Vucevic defensive rebound	25	14
3:25	Kevin Huerter makes two point shot (Josh Giddey assists)	27	14
3:21	Pistons Full timeout	27	14
3:21	Tre Jones enters the game for Josh Giddey	27	14
3:21	Jalen Smith enters the game for Nikola Vucevic	27	14
3:21	Paul Reed enters the game for Isaiah Stewart	27	14
3:07	Patrick Williams blocks Tobias Harris 's 5-foot driving layup	27	14
3:04	Ayo Dosunmu defensive rebound	27	14
3:02	Ayo Dosunmu makes two point shot (Tre Jones assists)	29	14
2:53	Kevin Huerter blocks Ronald Holland II's driving layup	29	14
2:50	Jalen Smith defensive rebound	29	14
2:49	Tre Jones out of bounds bad pass turnover	29	14
2:49	Javonte Green enters the game for Tobias Harris	29	14
2:34	Caris LeVert misses 23-foot three point jumper	29	14
2:31	Jalen Smith defensive rebound	29	14
2:20	Kevin Huerter misses 6-foot pullup jump shot	29	14
2:17	Cade Cunningham defensive rebound	29	14
2:14	Patrick Williams shooting foul	29	14
2:14	Cade Cunningham makes free throw 1 of 2	29	15
2:14	Cade Cunningham makes free throw 2 of 2	29	16
2:06	Paul Reed blocks Ayo Dosunmu 's 3-foot driving layup	29	16
2:06	Bulls offensive team rebound	29	16
2:03	Jalen Smith misses 26-foot three point jumper	29	16
2:00	Ayo Dosunmu offensive rebound	29	16
2:00	Paul Reed shooting foul	29	16
2:00	Jalen Smith makes free throw 1 of 2	30	16
2:00	Ausar Thompson enters the game for Cade Cunningham	30	16
2:00	Jalen Smith makes free throw 2 of 2	31	16
1:52	Ronald Holland II bad pass (Kevin Huerter steals)	31	16
1:27	Ayo Dosunmu makes 7-foot driving floating jump shot	33	16
1:14	Paul Reed makes 26-foot three point jumper (Ausar Thompson assists)	33	19
1:09	Patrick Williams steps out of bounds turnover	33	19
58.3	Paul Reed offensive foul	33	19
58.3	Paul Reed turnover	33	19
43.9	Javonte Green blocks Jalen Smith 's 1-foot driving layup	33	19
41.1	Jalen Smith offensive rebound	33	19
37.5	Tre Jones makes 5-foot jumper	35	19
26.9	Javonte Green misses 21-foot jumper	35	19
26.9	Bulls defensive team rebound	35	19
1.4	Jalen Smith misses 23-foot three point jumper	35	19
1.4	Kevin Huerter offensive rebound	35	19
0.0	Kevin Huerter misses tip shot	35	19
0.0	Ausar Thompson defensive rebound	35	19
0.0	End of the 1st Quarter	35	19

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Game Information

Time, Location & Referees

Venue

United Center

Chicago, IL

Date & Time

12:00 AM, October 23, 2025

Coverage

CHSN, NBA League Pass, FanDuel SN DET

Attendance

21,381

Referees

Pat Fraher, Dedric Taylor, Suyash Mehta

2025-26 Central Standings

TEAM	W	L	PCT	STRK
Detroit	38	13	.745	W1
Cleveland	32	21	.604	W3
Chicago	24	29	.453	L4
Milwaukee	21	29	.420	W3
Indiana	13	39	.250	L3

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Vucevic, Buzelis, Giddey lead way, Bulls beat Pistons 115-111 after blowing big lead

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