Bulls 115, Nets 100
NEW YORK -- Jimmy Butler led six Chicago players in double figures by scoring 10 of his 24 points in the fourth quarter and the Bulls withstood some shaky moments during a wire-to-wire 115-100 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Wednesday night.
Forward Nikola Mirotic made four 3-pointers and had 18 points as the Bulls were 14 of 28 (50 percent) from behind the arc. Center Pau Gasol added 16 points and point guard Derrick Rose contributed 15 for Chicago, which shot 53.8 percent from the field (42 of 78).
Center Brook Lopez led the Nets with 26 points on 10-of-17 shooting from the field. Reserve forward Andrea Bargnani added 17 points, but forward Joe Johnson was held to 10 on 4-of-15 shooting from the floor and Brooklyn's starting backcourt of Shane Larkin and Wayne Ellington combined for only six points.
It appeared that Chicago was going to dominate the second half as it held Brooklyn to 19 percent shooting from the floor in the third quarter and led by as many as 19 points before taking an 86-71 lead into the fourth quarter.
The Bulls allowed the Nets to hang around, and two free throws by Lopez cut the lead to 100-94 with 3:41 left. On Chicago's next possession, Rose barely beat the shot clock with a floater for a 102-94 lead with 3:16 left.
After Nets guard Markel Brown split two free throws with 3:09 left, Mirotic hit an open 3-pointer from the left wing off a feed by Butler. Less than a minute later, Gasol sealed it with a turnaround fadeway for a 107-96 lead. Butler knocked down a 3-pointer for a 110-98 advantage with 1:40 left.
Chicago scored the first seven points and led 21-10 before forward Joakim Noah checked in with under five minutes remaining. The Nets briefly cut the deficit to single digits, but reserve guard Aaron Brooks hit a fadeaway on a crossover move with nine seconds left for a 30-19 Bulls lead.
The Bulls gave up 36 points in the second quarter, allowing the Nets to shoot 70 percent from the field. But Chicago never gave up the lead and was up 58-55 at halftime.
NOTES: Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said he was unaware of a TMZ report that G Derrick Rose is being sued for $21.5 million by a woman accusing him of rape in 2013. ... Nets G Jarrett Jack sat out with a sore left hamstring that kept him out of four straight practices before Wednesday. ... Nets coach Lionel Hollins wore an NYPD hat at his pregame press conference and players wore NYPD shirts during warmups in support of slain officer Randolph Holder, whose funeral was Wednesday. ... Hoiberg met with rookie F Bobby Portis earlier this week and essentially told him "hang tight, we're going to need you." Portis did not play in Tuesday's season opener.