Nets vs Bulls Recap: Lopez Meltdown

Brook Lopez took advantage of the small back court for the Chicago Bulls. He scored 18 of the Nets 26 points in the quarter on 8 of 9 shooting. The Bulls were held to 30% shooting but that's no surprise when Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah are absent. This team relies on defense and the Nets were getting everything they wanted in the first half. MarShon Brooks continued to show confidence and made some positive plays. Deron Williams picked it up and finished with 8 and 7 assists for the half. His former teammate Carlos Boozer, pitched in 10 points and 8 rebounds but the Nets still were leading by double digits. The Nets did struggle shooting the three pointer, leaving with 14% at the half.

Joe Johnson and Gerald Wallace did start the game but failed to make an impact. Wallace was still missing lay-ups and Joe Johnson was missing his regular shots. The team went away from Lopez and Chicago made an run cutting the lead down six. Kirk Hinrich started the run with two three pointers and execution got Boozer some easy points and a dunk on Lopez. He scored 10 points in the quarter. Deron bated Hinrich on a three point attempt and he drew the foul, giving Hinrich five fouls with another quarter to go. The only bright spot for the Nets was Deron Williams who scored 11 in the quarter, but the Bulls only trailed by two.

The offense struggled early in the fourth quarter with the second unit on the floor. Deron Williams did come in and brought some points but the Bulls stepped up defensively  They caused six turnovers and the Bulls scored the majority from them. Johnson despite battling the slump made two big shots from deep. The game was close and Williams made a few tough shots to get the momentum on the Nets side.  The game went back and forth but there was about four crucial plays that went against the Nets and all of them involved Lopez.  He committed two turnovers, played terrible defense on the Nate Robinson floater, and missed a wide open jump shot to extend the game. Lopez had a good game for the most part but this is typical Nets basketball. Williams dominated  in the second half but it was not enough. The Bulls executed and managed to have five players score in double digits while the nets only had three players. The Bulls are two games closer to taking the fourth spot in the eastern conference.

Jimmy Butler

Box Score

Final Score : 92-90 Bulls
Most Disappointing Stat of The Game: Jimmy Butler scored 16 points.
Most Promising Stat of The Game: Nets had a 16 point lead.
Scariest Moment of The Game: Luol Deng scoring to take the lead.
Best Moment of The Game: Butler's up and under lay-up.
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