Bulls at Nets
THE STORY: When Luol Deng tore a ligament in his wrist during his rookie season, he opted for surgery and missed the playoffs as the Bulls were eliminated in the first round. Faced with the same injury, Deng is doing his best to fight through it this time. He will face the Nets in New Jersey on Monday after a successful return Saturday, when he scored 21 points and played a whopping 41 minutes in a victory over the Milwaukee Bucks. The Bulls were essentially a .500 team without him (4-3), but are one of the top two teams in the East when he’s in the lineup. The Nets have lost four of their last five games, in part because point guard Deron Williams continues to struggle at both ends of the floor. Williams had three costly turnovers in the final 95 seconds of Friday’s loss to Minnesota. He scored 21 points Saturday against the Knicks, but was outplayed by anonymous Knicks reserve Jeremy Lin, who had a career-high 25 points.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, CS Chicago, YES (New Jersey)
ABOUT THE BULLS (20-6): Kyle Korver has long been considered one of the league’s best 3-point shooters, but coach Tom Thibodeau praised Korver’s defensive ability over the weekend. Thibodeau said Korver has made great progress defensively over the last two seasons, particularly lately while filling in for Deng. Korver attributed it to extended playing time. His main asset will always be offense, however. He is shooting 43 percent on 3-pointers this season.
ABOUT THE NETS (8-17): Anthony Morrow will miss Monday's game to attend his grandmother’s funeral, but his 3-point campaign is in full swing. Morrow had his best 3-point shooting night of the season Friday when he made eight and said his agent and teammates are pushing for him to receive an invite to the 3-point shooting contest during All-Star weekend. His absence Monday delivers another blow to the Nets: He is averaging a career-best 14.7 points per game and is shooting 45 percent on 3-pointers.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. In addition to Morrow, MarShon Brooks, Damian James, Mehmet Okur and DeShawn Stevenson are all nursing injuries and will be out Monday for the Nets.
2. Nets forward Kris Humphries has 10 double-doubles in 25 games.
3. Bulls point guard Derrick Rose is averaging 18.7 points and 6.3 assists in his career against the Nets.