Nets at Bulls
The Chicago Bulls have wrestled home-court advantage away from Brooklyn and look to take a 2-1 lead in the series when they host the Nets when the first-round Eastern Conference matchup resumes on Thursday. Chicago notched a 90-82 victory in Monday’s Game 2 after suffering a 17-point loss in the opener. The Bulls clamped down on Nets star Deron Williams and had three different players record double-doubles while evening the series.
Chicago managed quite a turnaround in the second game in Brooklyn. Now the quest becomes matching that stellar effort. “After a win in the playoffs, you’re sky high and feeling good about yourself,” Bulls center Joakim Noah told reporters. “You’ve got to stay focused and know a lot of basketball is left. Anything can happen. Sometimes you play well, sometimes not.” Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo dissected the game tape closely on Tuesday and that only confirmed his postgame sentiments that it was a combination of poor play from his squad and a solid performance by the Bulls. “I think our guys all feel we let ourselves down and we didn’t play as well as we’re capable of playing,” Carlesimo said. Brooklyn guard Joe Johnson is questionable with a foot injury.
TV: 8:30 p.m. ET, WWOR (Brooklyn), Comcast SportsNet Chicago, NBATV
ABOUT THE NETS: Williams had only eight points on 1-of-9 shooting in Game 2 after scoring 22 points in the opener. He was harassed by Chicago point guard Kirk Hinrich and never found his shooting rhythm. Williams vowed that things will be much different in Game 3. “I’m not going to play like this again,” Williams said. “They did some different things and they tried to keep me on one side of the court. They definitely stayed with me longer on pick-and-rolls and tried to trap me a little bit. I’ll look at the film and see where I can improve. I didn’t go to the basket enough.”
ABOUT THE BULLS: Frontcourt performers Luol Deng (15 points, 10 rebounds) and Carlos Boozer (13 points, 12 rebounds) had solid Game 2 performances but the catalyst was Noah, who is playing through a bout of plantar fasciitis in his right foot. He struggled mightily in the opener but was strong down the stretch in Game 2 while finishing with 11 points and 10 rebounds and sideswiping the pain. “I thought Jo was very rusty in the first game but willed it, and I thought he willed it again and we needed every bit of it,” Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau said afterward. “To me, it’s obvious we’re a much better team with him on the floor.”
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Nets set a franchise mark with a 23-18 road mark in the regular season.
2. Boozer is averaging 19 points and 10 rebounds in the series.
3. Brooklyn C Brook Lopez had 21 points, five rebounds and three blocks in each of the first two games.