Bulls Rally To Beat Nets 92-90 [Video]
The Chicago Bulls were shorthanded and down by as much as 16 points before rallying to a 92-90 win over the Brooklyn Nets Thursday night. The Bulls made a strong push in the second half to shock the Nets, led by Carlos Boozer’s double-double.
Boozer finished the game with 29 points and 18 rebounds as the Bulls handed the Nets their third loss in four games. Luol Deng added 18 points and seven rebounds in the win, while Jimmy Butler finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Nate Robinson had 12 points and five assists off the bench as the Bulls were without five key players Thursday night. Derrick Rose has remained out of the lineup all season, while Taj Gibson, Richard Hamilton, Joakim Noah, and Marco Belinelli all missed Thursday’s game with separate injuries.
Noah is the Bulls leading rebounder with 11.4 a game but has been out of action since March 23 with a foot injury. Nazr Mohammed got the start in his place Thursday, and finished with five points and nine rebounds.
The Bulls are now tied with the Atlanta Hawks for fifth place in the Eastern Conference and have already clinched a playoff spot. Chicago also pulled within 1 1/2 games of the Nets for fourth place and home court advantage in the playoffs.
The Nets have been mediocre of late, and struggled down the stretch against the Bulls. Deron Williams led the Nets with 30 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to hold of a late run by the Bulls.
The Nets led by three with 52 seconds remaining in the game before Luol Deng hit a corner jumper to bring the Bulls within one. Nate Robinson then hit a floater with 22.7 seconds left in the game to give the Bulls the lead.
Brooke Lopez followed by missing from the corner with about three seconds left in the game to seal the win for the Bulls. Here are the highlights from the Bulls big comeback Thursday night:
Bulls’ head coach Tom Thibodeau officially signed his new four-year contract this past week, and the result Thursday is one of the major reasons why. Thibodeau is known for getting the most out of his guys, even when he is without star players like Derrick Rose and Joakim Noah.
Thibodeau’s Bulls have eight games left in the season to catch the Nets for home court advantage. Chicago faces off with Orlando Magic Friday, who have lost three straight games and are in the middle of their worst season since going 21-61 in 2003-04.
Will the Chicago Bulls rally Thursday night give them the momentum they need to catch the Brooklyn Nets with two weeks remaining in the season?
[Image via Keith Allison]
