The Brooklyn Nets visited United Center to face the Chicago Bulls for the fourth and final time this season, losing 131-87. Chicago wins the regular season series 3-1.
For the Nets, Cam Thomas had 22 points and two assists while Seth Curry had 19 points and three assists. Mikal Bridges had 13 points and Cameron Johnson had 10 points.
For the Bulls, Zach LaVine had 32 points and six rebounds while DeMar DeRozan had 17 points and four assists. Patrick Williams had 17 points and Nikola Vucevic had 13 points.
In the first half, the Nets had about as rough halves as the NBA has this season, scoring just 29 points on 24.4% shots from the field. It took Brooklyn nearly four minutes to make his first basket, a Spencer Dinwiddie lob to Nic Claxton. The Bulls ended the first half with a 35:11 run.
In the second half it was more the same for both teams. The Nets couldn’t buy a bucket and the cops couldn’t miss. For the game, Brooklyn shot 37% from the field while Chicago shot 56.8%. The Bulls overtook the Nets 57-31 and outclassed Brooklyn 62-22. That’s all there is to say about how bad this loss was for the Nets.
Here’s how NBA Twitter reacted to the Nets’ embarrassing loss:
Not so fun fact. The Nets’ first-half total — 29 points — was their worst since April 26, 2012, the franchise’s last game in New Jersey, when they scored 27 points.
— NetsDaily (@NetsDaily) February 25, 2023
Finals: Bulls beat the Nets 131-87. That’s a 44-point blowout, surpassing the 43-point loss in Boston on Feb. 1. Cam Thomas had a team-best 22 points in the loss. The Nets’ lead over the Knicks for the fifth seed is by one game.
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) February 25, 2023
Final: Bulls 131, Nets 87
Brooklyn shoots 37% from the field and 27% from three in their worst loss of the season. Not the start you’d hope for after the break.
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 25, 2023
Jacque Vaughn is taking longer than usual to get to his post-game press conference.
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) February 25, 2023
Jacque Vaughn said he thought the Nets looked good early in the game but couldn’t make them fall. Understand that it’s harder to play defense when there are no shots coming.
— Alex Schiffer (@Alex__Schiffer) February 25, 2023
Jacque Vaughn: “I’ll keep preaching that this kind of effort is unacceptable.”
— Erik Slater (@erikslater_) February 25, 2023
Jacque Vaughn: “You can’t have nights like this where you play so badly.” #Nets
— Kristian Winfield (@Krisplashed) February 25, 2023