(My Sportsbook) - After spending 10 days dealing with his mother's death and taking to the court for the All-Star Game, Ben Wallace returned to the fold for the Detroit Pistons on Tuesday and instantly made an impact.

Wallace played with outstanding energy, corralling 22 rebounds to lead the Pistons to an 89-79 win over the Chicago Bulls at the United Center. His rebounding prowess helped make up for the Pistons' poor shooting (.344) and their atrocious ball handling (20 turnovers).

"I thought Ben Wallace set the tone for the game for us," said coach Rick Carlisle. "His work on the boards tonight was unbelievable with 22.

"He controlled the defensive end, and I thought we had a lot of guys play well, and I thought everybody played hard."

Wallace's efforts helped the Pistons to their fifth straight win and ninth in 10 games. The Virginia Union product was just happy to be with his teammates again after his tough week.

"I didn't want to let my personal life get involved in my job," said Wallace, who finished two short of his season best in rebounds. "I put stuff from this weekend behind me and I wanted to go back to work...We thought it was important after the break to come in here and get off to a good start.

"We had to start by cleaning up the boards. Coming off the break there are going to be a lot of missed shots and you can't afford to let teams get second shots."

Chauncey Billups shouldered the scoring load for the Pistons with 20 points, while Mehmet Okur chipped in 17 points off the bench. Okur has posted back-to- back games of 17 or more points. Corliss Williamson added 14 points in 26 minutes off the bench and Clifford Robinson scored 10 for Detroit.

"He's a worker," Robinson said of Wallace. "The fact that he has been off 10 days, it didn't show. He's going to go out and give you what he's got every night."

The victory was a big one for the Pistons, who remain just one game behind Indiana for the lead in the Central Division.

On Thursday, Detroit returns home to take on the Orlando Magic. The Pistons own an outstanding 18-5 mark in the friendly confines of The Palace of Auburn Hills.