The Brooklyn Nets took on the Chicago Bulls in the battle of the Lopez brothers on Monday night. The Bulls’ high-powered offense put on a show in Brooklyn, as Chicago defeated the Nets.
The Brooklyn Nets played host to the Chicago Bulls on Monday night. The two teams got off to a frenetic start, with plenty of ball movement. Early on, the Nets struggled with turnovers and the Bulls were hot from the field, which resulted in an 18-9 lead for Chicago.
The Bulls put on a clinic in transition off of the Nets misses. Outlet passes from Rajon Rondo and Dwyane Wade created easy dunks for Chicago in transition. In their offensive sets, the Bulls also moved the ball well. Chicago’s potent offense gave them a comfortable first-quarter lead.
At the end of the first quarter, the Bulls had a sizable lead, 38-20.
At the 9:37 mark of the second quarter, Bulls guard Michael Carter-Williams went down with an injury The Bulls announced Carter-Williams injured his left knee, and he did not return. On the following possession, Nets center Justin Hamilton also went down when his left ankle rolled, and limped off the floor.
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Isaiah Canaan entered the game in relief of Carter-Williams and immediately gave the Bulls a spark, scoring 13 points in eight second-quarter minutes.
The Bulls looked quicker than the Nets, they spaced the floor well, and moved the ball effectively. Chicago also knocked down six of their first 12 three-pointers. At the end of the first half, Chicago held a 65-44 lead. Jeremy Lin led all scorers in the first half, with 14.
The Bulls maintained a comfortable lead in the third quarter, but played sloppily at the onset of the quarter. At the eight-minute mark, the Bulls committed their 13th turnover of the game. Despite the turnovers, Chicago’s lead wasn’t effected. The Bulls extended their lead to 81-55 at the 4:40 mark, as the Nets simply couldn’t make up ground after digging such a deep hole.
Heading to the fourth quarter, the Bulls had a commanding 93-66 lead.
Facing such a large deficit, the Nets went to pieces on their bench for the fourth quarter. Anthony Bennett and Chris McCullough entered the game, as Kenny Atkinson used this as an opportunity to get the two forwards some playing time.
The entirety of the fourth quarter consisted of garbage time minutes, as the Bulls had the game well in hand. The Bulls cruised to a 118-88 victory.
Next: History of the Lopez Brothers
The Nets struggled from three-point range, making just five of 31 from beyond the arc. Bojan Bogdanovic led the Nets with 15 points. Jeremy Lin added 14, and Brook Lopez scored 13. For the Bulls, Jimmy Butler scored a game-high 22.
With the loss, the Nets drop to 1-3 on the season. Brooklyn’s next game is Wednesday, when the Nets host the Detroit Pistons.