AUBURN HILLS – Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau has said that he has three big men starters in Pau Gasol, Taj Gibson and Joakim Noah.
With Noah sitting out for scheduled rest, Gibson stepped into the starting lineup on Tuesday and performed accordingly.
Though Gibson finished with 17 points, seven rebounds and three assists, the visiting Bulls fell to the Detroit Pistons 111-109 in overtime, dropping their preseason record to 0-2.
Gibson connected on eight-of-ten from the field and played 31 minutes.
Aaron Brooks and Jimmy Butler tallied 18 points apiece, while Gasol recorded five points, ten rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Noah was in the lineup for Chicago’s preseason opener on Monday and logged 14 minutes, but the Bulls are proceeding with caution as their All-Star center works his way back into form.
Derrick Rose, meanwhile, did play but his time was again limited. Rose scored six points in 14 minutes, all from the free throw line. He missed all four of his shot attempts and as he did in Monday’s opener played only in the first half.
The Bulls will be back in action on Saturday when they travel to Milwaukee to face the Bucks (7:30 p.m. CT on WGN-TV).