Detroit Pistons whacked 103-81 by Chicago Bulls in Dwane Casey's final game as coach

CHICAGO — With three minutes remaining in the third quarter, the Chicago Bulls waved the white flag. Zach LaVine and Patrick Beverley substituted out of the game, joining the rest of the starters. With their play-in berth already secured, it was time for them to wind down.

The Bulls’ bench unit outscored the Detroit Pistons’ starters the rest of the way, though, sending the Pistons to a fitting conclusion: a 103-81 loss, thanks to a 34-11 Bulls run that started at the end of the third quarter.

Pistons coach Dwane Casey announced postgame he is leaving the bench and joining the Pistons' front office under general manager Troy Weaver.

"It's been a good 44 years," Casey said. "Tom (Gores) is giving me an opportunity to move into the front office to work with Troy.

"It's best for myself, my family and the organization," he said and noted the team could use a new voice after three years of the rebuild and five with him as coach. "I'm excited for what we've done, the culture and foundation that we've built."

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The Pistons finish the season with a 17-65 record, the worst in the NBA and second-worst in franchise history. They lost 23 of their final 25 games, and can now look forward to an offseason that will feature a top-five pick and ample cap space to position the roster for an improvement next season.

Killian Hayes led the Pistons with 26 points, eight rebounds and seven assists. Jaden Ivey (16 points), Marvin Bagley III (12 points) and James Wiseman (11 points) also reached double figures, and Wiseman also grabbed 18 rebounds. Detroit shot just 36.5% overall, 27.3% from 3 and tied a season-high with 24 turnovers.

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Hayes closes season with back-to-back strong nights

This season saw Hayes play his strongest stretches of basketball, but it was still an inconsistent campaign for the third-year guard. He entered the season finale shooting 37.5% overall and 27.7% from 3 — in line with his career averages of 37.5% and 27.3%, respectively. His shot attempts went up, but his efficiency did not.

So the Pistons were happy to see his career night against the Indiana Pacers on Friday, which saw him score a career-high 28 points, six assists and four steals while hitting all seven of his free throw attempts. He picked up where he left off against the Bulls, giving him a pair of aggressive performances to build on as he enters another pivotal offseason. It’s the first time in his career he’s scored at least 20 points in back-to-back games.

Detroit fell behind 22-9 midway through the opening quarter, but Hayes helped the Pistons close it with a 16-4 run by hitting consecutive 3-pointers. He then helped lead a 13-4 run that allowed the Pistons to trail by three at halftime, 49-46, after trailing by 12 points. Hayes was fouled by Patrick Beverly on a 3-point attempt and sank all three at the line before knocking down a technical free throw, and then found Jalen Duren wide open in transition for a dunk.

Hayes took 15free throw attempts in his final two games — a significant increase over his season average of 1.4 attempts per game. Outside shooting has been a big focus for him, but generating contact has given him a different avenue to consistently put points on the scoreboard.

Pistons limp to finish line

Detroit has eight players on their injury report for Sunday’s game — Cade Cunningham, Bojan Bogdanovic, Alec Burks, Isaiah Stewart, Isaiah Livers, Hamidou Diallo, Rodney McGruder and Eugene Omoruyi.

While the Pistons’ season was doomed essentially after Cade Cunningham’s season-ending surgery in December, the long list of injuries were a significant factor in Detroit’s awfully-cold finish to the year. At 17-65 overall, they finished four games behind the 21-win Houston Rockets and San Antonio Spurs to clinch the NBA’s worst record.

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Contact Omari Sankofa II at osankofa@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @omarisankofa.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit Pistons whacked by Bulls in Dwane Casey's final game as coach