Following their March 18 victory over the Portland Trail Blazers, the Chicago Bulls found themselves just short of breaking the.500 barrier for the first time in almost a year.
They then lost three in a row, but their decline did not prevent them from finishing in ninth place in the Eastern Conference. When the Bulls face the Brooklyn Nets on Friday night, they hope to maintain their third-place play-in position.
The Bulls (35-38) trail the eighth-place Philadelphia Sixers by four games and the seventh-place Miami Heat by four and a half going into their second trip to Brooklyn. They led the 10th-place Atlanta Hawks by 1 1/2 games as of Thursday night. If the Bulls hadn’t suffered double-digit losses to the Boston Celtics and Houston Rockets after their 110-107 victory over Portland, as well as a 107-105 loss to the Washington Wizards on Monday, the lead might have been larger.
The Bulls defeated the Indiana Pacers 125-99 on Wednesday to snap a four-game losing streak.
Chicago’s other four starters scored in double figures, led by DeMar DeRozan, who scored 27 points, as the Bulls kept the Pacers under 100 points for the first time this season. After a poor start, Chicago has now conceded less than 100 points for the ninth and seventh times, respectively.
After limiting the Pacers to just 43 points in the first half, Chicago coach Billy Donovan stated, “I thought we were really connected defensively.” “There was excellent dialogue. When it came to knowing when to swap and when to stick with our man and stay in coverage, I felt like we were right on target. It mattered how they supported one another.
The Nets (28-45) had a 13-10 start and defeated Chicago twice. On November 26, they won 118-109 at home thanks to 25 3-point shooting. They have since finished 15-35, including 7-12 with Kevin Ollie serving as temporary coach.
After spending 10 of the previous 11 games away from home, Brooklyn will play six of the next seven at home. The Nets finished 3-8 during that run, but they are currently riding high after winning their last three games, and they are trying to tie a season high by winning three straight for the fourth time this year.
The Nets defeated the Toronto Raptors 96-88 on Monday to end a six-game losing streak. On Wednesday, they defeated the Wizards 122-119 in overtime.
In addition to matching Jordan Poole’s 38 points, Cam Thomas added seven assists after sitting out the game on Monday due to back spasms. In nine games this month, he shot 14 of 27 and is averaging 26.3 points on 47.8 percent shooting.
Ollie praised Thomas, saying, “That was great basketball.” “You know, Thomas did a terrific job court mapping in the first half as well. And he was also getting off the ball when he started to being dealt with. That simply demonstrates his progress.
The Nets want to improve on their performance from the previous game, in which they let up 28 points in the fourth quarter and overtime and had five players in double digits. They have small chances of catching the Hawks for the final play-in spot. Mikal Bridges finished with 19 points, Dennis Schroder scored 21, and Nic Claxton added 17 points, 13 rebounds, and three blocks—two in overtime and one on the last play of regulation.
-Media at the Field Level
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