NEW YORK — Hours after executive vice president of basketball operations Artūras Karnišovas insisted that a consistent roster is still the answer, the Chicago Bulls on Thursday lost to the Brooklyn Nets 116-105.
For fans hoping for consolation after the Bulls stood pat at the NBA trade deadline, the game offered little comfort. The loss was riddled with the same weakness that has plagued the team for two seasons: 3-point shooting.
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This marked the second straight loss for the Bulls after pulling they pulled within one game of .500 on Monday.
- After missing Tuesday’s game in Memphis, Tenn., because of right hip soreness, DeMar DeRozan struggled to make his shots in Brooklyn. DeRozan went 5-for-13 from the field and 4-for-7 from the free-throw line, creating as many points with his six assists than he did with his shooting.
- The Bulls bench failed to balance out a low-scoring night from DeRozan and Nikola Vučević (15 points), scoring only 30. The Nets bench scored 48 points — including 18 from Joe Harris and 14 from Yuta Watanabe.
- Patrick Williams finished with only 14 minutes and did not play in the fourth quarter after landing on the injury report with a right ankle sprain. Williams scored two points and added two rebounds.
- Zach LaVine opened the game 5-for-6 from the field and remained the Bulls’ only source of consistent scoring throughout the game. He finished 16-for-25 from the field and scored a game-high 38 points but couldn’t provide a heroic bailout in the final minutes.
- The Nets started the third quarter with a 12-4 run, but the Bulls rallied for a 15-point swing to close the quarter with a lead. But the opportunity was quickly squandered as the Bulls failed to pull ahead by more than four points before another Nets surge placed them back on top.
Once again, the Bulls’ lack of 3-point shooters was highlighted while an opponent got hot from behind the arc. The Bulls opened the game 0-for-10 on 3s until LaVine snapped the streak with 5:54 left in the third quarter.
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The Bulls finished 5-for-26 (19.2%) from 3-point range while the Nets finished 17-for-44. Harris single-handedly outscored the Bulls from behind the arc, going 6-for-9 off the bench.
Before hosting the Bulls, the Nets were rocked by the biggest roster upheaval of the trade-deadline window. After sending Kyrie Irving to the Dallas Mavericks on Monday, the Nets dealt Kevin Durant to the Phoenix Suns early Thursday.
The Nets team that took the court against the Bulls had a stripped-down roster that reflected the final disintegration of their three-year attempt at building a superteam. Yet the Nets looked more composed than the Bulls.
The Bulls fell to 26-29 and remain ninth in the Eastern Conference.
The Bulls complete a three-game trip against the Cleveland Cavaliers on Saturday, then return home to face the Orlando Magic on Monday.
