Facing Bulls, Nets Stumble in Final Game Before All
CHICAGO - At the close of 2013, less than two months ago, the Nets seemed to be on the brink of implosion. They had dealt with issues of futility (losing 12 of 15 games during one stretch), absurdity (their first-year coach, Jason Kidd, was fined for spilling a soda on the court on purpose) and personality (Kidd banished his top assistant, Lawrence Frank, from the bench).
A blistering pace this calendar year had pushed aside those bad feelings and put the Nets, after all the bumps and bruises, in position for a playoff spot.
Their march into the All-Star break hit a stumbling block Thursday night, though, as the Chicago Bulls interrupted the good vibes with a 92-76 win at United Center.
In a game played in the rough-and-tumble style favored by Bulls Coach Tom Thibodeau, the Nets were outrebounded, 45-27, and had no effective response to Chicago's physical presence. Double technical fouls were assessed when Nets guard Joe Johnson and the Bulls swingman Jimmy Butler had to be separated by teammates after exchanging words in the third quarter. Paul Pierce later received a technical for arguing an offensive foul.
Pierce led the Nets (24-27) with 15 points and kept them close - but never close enough. The Bulls (27-25), who led for almost the entire game, built a 14-point edge in the first half and led by 8 at halftime.
The Nets closed the gap to 3 on an Andrei Kirilenko 3-pointer with 6 minutes 28 seconds left in the game, but a 9-0 run by the Bulls pushed the lead back to double digits.
'We didn't get a couple stops when we needed them,' the Nets' Deron Williams said. 'Definitely defense was the problem tonight.'
Taj Gibson had 16 points to lead the Bulls, who dispatched the Nets from the playoffs a season ago and thumped them on Dec. 25 in Brooklyn. Even without Luol Deng, who was traded away, and the injured Derrick Rose, Chicago remains a kind of kryptonite for the Nets.
Williams had 13 points and Johnson 11 for the Nets, who fell to 2-10 this season when playing the second game of a back-to-back.
'It has to do with being mentally tough,' Pierce said. 'We can't look at it and say we played last night. Every team has that schedule.'
Thursday's game acted as a prelude to a stretch of six games on the road after the All-Star break, five of them against Western Conference teams. The Nets will not play at Barclays Center again until March 3, also against the Bulls.
But even a hard-fought loss cannot dim the Nets' turnaround in 2014 as they leave for a few days of rest and relaxation. A season-ending injury to Brook Lopez has forced Kidd to rely on a smaller lineup, and the leadership of Kevin Garnett and Pierce, who had sluggish starts after they were acquired during the off-season, has shown.
A talkative and reflective Kidd said he would use the break to assess his and his team's first-half performances. Then they will get ready for the season's final 31 games.
'It being my first year, just understanding what it entails,' he said of his coaching development. 'I've been trying to absorb and learn and make mistakes, but learn from the mistakes.'
And in a nod to the winter weather New York has dealt with, he smiled and said of the second half, 'Hopefully it will be sunny and warm.'
Post a Comment for "Facing Bulls, Nets Stumble in Final Game Before All"