They need one more victory to set up the biggest game here yet.

Brook Lopez had 28 points and 10 rebounds, Deron Williams added 23 points and 10 assists, and the Nets beat Chicago 110-91 on Monday night, cutting the Bulls’ lead to 3-2 in their first-round playoff series.

Recovering from a collapse two days earlier that sent them home on the brink of elimination instead of tied, the Nets battered the Bulls on the boards and forced Chicago into being the team that wilted down the stretch.

“We came out very aggressive, as we have the past few games. I think the difference was just we sustained it for essentially a full 48 minutes tonight,” Lopez said.

Andray Blatche scored 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter and Gerald Wallace had consecutive baskets in the finishing surge as the Nets finally pulled away in a game they led most of the way, but never by too much.

Two days after rallying for a 142-134 triple-overtime victory, the Bulls were outscored 15-1 at the finish and failed to set up a second-round series with Miami. Instead they will host Game 6 on Thursday.

“It was just a lot of mental mistakes. A lot of mental mistakes,” Bulls center Joakim Noah said. “I feel like we had our chances. We beat ourselves. They played well. You’ve got to give credit when credit is due and now it’s on us to come back and be ready for Game 6.”

If the Nets win that one, they would host Game 7 on Saturday.

Nate Robinson had 20 points and eight assists starting in place of point guard Kirk Hinrich, who bruised his left calf in Saturday’s game.

“For us, I knew it was going to be tough; it was going to be a challenge,” Robinson said. “At the same time, we’ve been here before playing with a guy short. It’s something we’ve got to do. We’ve just got to muster something and bring that energy and continue to play like we’ve been playing.”

Only eight NBA teams have overcome a 3-1 deficit, but the Nets remained confident after Saturday’s collapse, feeling they had outplayed the Bulls for long stretches during the series. They have led by double digits in four of the five games.

“I believed that we would respond,” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “We’ve bounced back all year too well, and as disheartening a loss as that was on Saturday, there’s still been enough good minutes in this series. Neither of us are getting away from each other.”

But they need two more wins against a Bulls franchise that is 12-0 all-time when holding a 3-1 lead.

“We feel like we’re the better team,” Wallace said. “We’ve just got to play a 48-minute game completely and stay in attack mode.”

Robinson scored 29 of his 34 points after the third quarter Saturday in a game the Nets led by 14 late in regulation. Coming off his big game and agitating to opposing fans even when he’s struggling, Robinson was loudly booed during introductions, and each time he touched the ball early on.

He made a jumper with 4:17 remaining to cut Brooklyn’s lead to 95-90, but there would be no charge this time. Lopez converted a three-point play, and after a free throw by Jimmy Butler, Wallace nailed a 3-pointer, then came up with a steal and dunk to give the Nets a 103-91 advantage with 2 minutes to go.

The Nets finished it off with ease, prolonging their first season since moving from New Jersey.

Butler scored 18 points for the Bulls, who were outrebounded 44-33 and gave up 24 second-chance points.

“That’s the difference in the game, the rebounding,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “If you defend fairly well and then you give a team a second and a third crack at it, it’s hard to win like that.”

The Nets ran off seven straight points late in the first quarter, five from Lopez, to turn a 17-17 tie into a 24-17 lead.

Brooklyn got eight second-quarter points from Kris Humphries, then opened its biggest lead when Johnson and Wallace made consecutive 3-pointers before Lopez made two free throws to make it 50-40. The Nets led 52-44 at the break.

The Nets had the lead into double digits a few times in the third quarter but never built on it. The Bulls were back within four by the end of the period after making 11 of 16 shots (69 percent).

Butler made a 3-pointer to open the fourth quarter and make it a one-point game, but Chicago never could grab the lead in the final period.

Wallace scored 12 points and Reggie Evans grabbed 12 rebounds as the Nets improved to 6-0 all-time in Game 5s at home. They have never lost a series when holding home-court advantage.

Joe Johnson and C.J. Watson each scored 11 points.

Game notes

Carlesimo said it wasn’t hard to ignore thoughts about his own future because the games come too quickly to worry about anything else. Though the Nets gave general manager Billy King a contract extension last week, it is unknown if Carlesimo will be back after leading the Nets to a 35-19 mark after replacing the fired Avery Johnson in late December. … A number of New York Islanders were in the crowd at the franchise’s future home. The NHL team plans to move from Long Island to Barclays Center in 2015.

The post Brook Lopez scores 28 points as Nets avoid elimination, force Game 6 appeared first on IdealCapper.

Detroit At Chicago
When: 7:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 31, 2013
Where: United Center, Chicago, Illinois
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Fox Sports Detroit, WGN (Chicago)
PREDICTION: Bulls 95, Pistons 88

Oddsmakers currently have the Bulls listed as 9-point favorites versus the Pistons, while the game’s total is sitting at 187.

Detroit coach Lawrence Frank called his team’s performance Friday against Toronto “embarrassing,” pointing particularly to a third quarter in which the Pistons were outscored 36-15. It wasn’t all bad for Detroit, though, as rookie Andre Drummond returned after missing 22 games because of a stress fracture in his lower back and scored 17 points in 19 minutes. The Pistons could be without another one of their solid young players, though, with guard Brandon Knight listed as doubtful after injuring his ankle against the Raptors.

Detroit lost its last outing, a 99-82 result against the Raptors on March 29. The Pistons failed to cover in that game as a 1.5-point favorite, while the 181 combined points took the game UNDER the total.

Team record: 24-49 SU, 32-41 ATS
Current streak: lost 2 straight games.

The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 5 games when playing on the road against Chicago
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games
is 5-12 ATS in its last 17 games
is 4-17-1 ATS in its last 22 games when playing Chicago

When playing on Sunday are 2-8
Before playing Toronto are 2-8
After playing Toronto are 5-5
After a loss are 1-9

The Bulls have held their own with some of their top players sidelined – Marco Belinelli (strained abdominal muscle), Richard Hamilton (back spasms) and Joakim Noah (foot) all sat out Saturday – but they missed having their stars down the stretch against Dallas, as the Mavericks overcame a 12-point deficit in the final four minutes. “This was a tough loss,” guard Kirk Hinrich told reporters. “We just didn’t finish it out.” Noah and Belinelli could return against the Pistons.

Chicago lost its last outing, a 100-98 result against the Mavericks on March 30. The Bulls covered in that game as a 5.5-point underdog, while the 198 combined points took the game OVER the total.

Team record: 39-32 SU, 33-38 ATS

is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing Detroit
is 5-0 SU in its last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 5 games when playing at home against Detroit
is 17-4-1 ATS in its last 22 games when playing Detroit

When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing Washington are 7-3
After playing Dallas are 7-3
After a loss are 6-4

The post Detroit Pistons vs. Chicago Bulls Free Betting Pick & Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.

The pained expression and the negative body language were the result of another Bulls loss, this one in embarrassing fashion.

Tyreke Evans had 26 points and seven assists in the Sacramento Kings’ most lopsided victory of the season, a 121-79 rout of the Bulls on Wednesday night.

The Kings opened the second quarter with a 26-4 run against the lethargic Bulls to hike their lead to 34 points. It was an almost error-free first half for the Kings, who committed just one turnover and took a 65-36 lead into intermission.

The Bulls have dropped a season-high five straight road games and have a 7-12 record since beating Milwaukee on Jan. 30. It was the most one-sided loss all season for Chicago and Sacramento’s largest margin of victory ever against the Bulls.

“It was embarrassing, man. It’s hard to put into words,” Bulls forward Carlos Boozer said.

Boozer will get no argument from Thibodeau. The Bulls shot 38 percent, missed 19 of 21 3-point attempts, and committed 17 turnovers.

However, what was not in the stat sheet afterward was effort. The Bulls were lacking in that department as well.

“Our level of intensity was very poor. Our readiness to play was very poor,” Thibodeau said. “But I’m probably most disappointed in me. It’s my job to have them ready. We can’t come out like that, that’s on me. I have to drive (them) harder and I will.”

Boozer scored 21 points and Nate Robinson had 19 for the slumping Bulls, who lost their second straight and fourth in five games.

Short-handed Chicago played without injured forward Taj Gibson (knee) and veteran guards Richard Hamilton (back) and Kirk Hinrich (foot), who are all out indefinitely.

“We’re not playing well offensively or defensively,” said Joakim Noah, who had six points and nine rebounds. “It’s no time to make excuses (about injuries). We need to find a way to bounce back. We just have to move on fast and get ready for Golden State (on Friday). They are a lot better team than this team (the Kings).”

The Kings shot 54 percent, had a season-low five turnovers and scored 27 fast-break points. According to Elias Sports Bureau, it was the Kings’ largest margin of victory since Jan. 2, 1993, when they beat the Philadelphia 76ers 154-98.

Making his first start of the season, Patrick Patterson had 14 points and nine rebounds, and Jason Thompson had 12 points for the Kings, who snapped a five-game losing streak against Chicago.

“I was just picking and popping and my teammates were finding opportunities for me,” said Patterson, who came to the Kings in a February trade with Houston. “I was just being in the right place at the right time.”

At least for one game, it mattered very little that Sacramento played without DeMarcus Cousins, the Kings’ leading scorer and rebounder. He missed the game due to a sore left knee.

Cousins picked up his 12th technical foul of the season and was ejected from Sunday’s game against Milwaukee after picking up a Flagrant 2 for elbowing Mike Dunleavy in the head.

Though there was speculation Cousins would be suspended by the NBA and miss the game, the volatile center was spared of his third league suspension this season.

“We just opened the court up a little more (with Cousins out) and had our guards attack,” guard Isaiah Thomas said. “We were in attack mode from the jump. We know they’re a great defensive team and we wanted to just stay back in attack mode. I think Tyreke started it off and that got me going a little bit, then other people got going.”

There was no letting up in the third quarter for the Kings, who didn’t allow the Bulls to cut into their 29-point deficit. Thomas had 11 points and continued to push the tempo for Sacramento, which took a 93-60 lead into the fourth.

Evans had 18 points in the first half, when the Kings shot 58 percent. Sacramento began the second quarter with an 11-2 run and the lead remained in double figures the remainder of the game.

“It’s not so much the winning or losing right now, it’s the way we’re playing,” Noah said. “Is it the readiness? I wish I knew.”

It was a horrible first half at both ends of the court for the Bulls, who shot 35 percent, committed eight turnovers, and allowed 15 fast-break points. Boozer was the only bright spot for Chicago with 16 points.

Patterson helped get the Kings off to a fast start, making all five shots and scoring 11 first-quarter points. Sacramento shot 65 percent in the opening quarter and led 34-20.

“We need to get our swag back; get our confidence back,” Boozer said. “The only people that can fix it are in this room. (Maybe) we need a game like this to wake us up. The playoffs will be here in the blink of an eye.”

Game notes

Former league MVP Derrick Rose worked out before the game. Rose, who tore his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee last April, is still contemplating a return to the Bulls this season. . Evans has averaged 23.7 points in his last three games. . Kings reserve forward James Johnson missed his second straight game due to personal reasons. . Attendance was 14,426. … Marco Belinelli missed all nine shots for the Bulls, including five 3-point attempts.

The post Kings open up 34-point first-half lead, go on to stomp Bulls appeared first on IdealCapper.

Chicago At Indiana
When: 8:00 PM ET, Sunday, March 3, 2013
Where: Bankers Life Fieldhouse, Indianapolis, Indiana
TV: 8 p.m. ET, ESPN, WCIU (Chicago)
PREDICTION: Pacers 96, Bulls 92

Oddsmakers currently have the Pacers listed as 6½-point favorites versus the Bulls, while the game’s total is sitting at 180.

The post duo of Carlos Boozer (15.6 points, 9.3 rebounds) and Joakim Noah (12 points, 11.4 rebounds) has carried Chicago the past two games. Leading scorer Luol Deng (16.4 points, 6.7 rebounds) was slowed Saturday after taking a shot to the mouth in Thursday’s win over Philadelphia, and guard Richard Hamilton (back spasms) has missed the past two games and is not expected to travel to Indiana.

Chicago won its last outing, a 96-85 result against the Nets on March 2. The Bulls covered in that game as a 4.5-point favorite, while the 181 combined points took the game OVER the total.

Chicago:
Team record: 34-25 SU, 26-33 ATS
Current streak: won 2 straight games.

The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games on the road
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 5 of last 7 games when playing on the road against Indiana
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 6 games

When playing on Sunday are 3-7
Before playing San Antonio are 9-1
After playing Brooklyn are 6-4
After a win are 4-6

Indiana is one of the top defensive teams in the league but has shown improved offensive prowess recently. The return of forward Danny Granger has helped in that regard, but the former All-Star has averaged just 6.8 points in four games as he eases back into action from a knee injury. Leading scorer Paul George (17.8 points, 7.9 rebounds) blossomed into a star during Granger’s absence and forward David West (17.4 points, 7.6 rebounds) is having another strong season.

The Pacers were a 93-81 winner in their most recent outing on the road against the Raptors. They covered the 2-point spread as favorites, while the total score (174) made winners of UNDER bettors.

Indiana:
Team record: 37-22 SU, 34-25 ATS

is 19-3 SU in its last 22 games at home
is 6-1 SU in its last 7 games
The total has gone UNDER in 4 of last 5 games when playing Chicago
is 18-7 SU in its last 25 games when playing at home against Chicago

When playing on Sunday are 4-6
Before playing Boston are 7-3
After playing Toronto are 6-4
After a win are 8-2

The post Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers Free Betting Pick & Matchup appeared first on IdealCapper.

The Bulls already are without two starters in Kirk Hinrich (elbow) and Derrick Rose, who is still recovering from ACL surgery. The Bulls lost to the Brooklyn Nets minus those four players on Friday but came back on Saturday to beat the Hawks in Atlanta.

“I feel pretty good, but just give it a couple more days and try to go on Thursday [at Denver],” Noah said before Monday’s shootaround. “I don’t think I’ll be able to go tonight, but I’m just moving in the right direction and hopefully by Thursday I’ll be ready to go.”

Noah has missed the past two games with plantar fasciitis, the same injury he dealt with for most of the season three years ago. He believes he caught the injury much earlier this time.

“The one in [the 2009-10 season] I just kept playing through it,” Noah said. “I kept playing through it, I probably played with it for a month until I couldn’t anymore.

“This [time], I stopped a lot earlier. I probably played on it for maybe five, six games and I just knew what direction it was going in. In [2009-10], I just tried to act like it wasn’t there and just play through it and it was a mistake. I feel like with a couple more days of treatment I think I’ll be OK.”

That treatment includes rest — something Noah has tried to get plenty of over the last few days.

“Rest, ice, laser treatment,” he said. “I actually shot around [Sunday], but no jumping, no running, just resting really.”

Noah is confident that with some more treatment he can get rid of the problem for the rest of the year.

“I feel like you definitely learn from your experiences,” he said. “I’ve been through this before so I kind of know what to expect and I’ve gotten all the treatment for this before, and I’m hoping that a couple more days rest and I’ll be back at 100 percent and I won’t have to deal with this anymore.”

As for Boozer, he seems more confident he may be able to play Monday night. He has missed the past three games because of the hamstring injury that he originally suffered in the first quarter a week ago against the Bobcats.

“It will be a game-time [decision], but I feel good,” he said. “If it feels good, I’ll be out there.”

Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau officially termed both players as game-time decisions, but he also sounded more confident that Boozer would be able to play.

“He’s feeling better,” Thibodeau said of Boozer. “We’ll see where he is tonight. Each day he’s gotten better, he’s close.”

The post Joakim Noah likely out appeared first on IdealCapper.

Belinelli came up big in the closing minutes, scoring eight points during an 18-4 run that broke a 75-75 tie and sent the Lakers to their ninth loss in 11 games.

He started it by hitting two free throws after getting fouled by Dwight Howard with 6:54 left in the game and wrapped two 3-pointers around a layup by Los Angeles’ Earl Clark, making it 89-79 with 2:27 remaining.

The Lakers have now dropped six straight on the road, and this one came after coach Mike D’Antoni shook up the lineup. He moved forward Pau Gasol to a reserve role and replaced him with Clark, but the slide continued on a night when Kobe Bryant and Howard were mostly nonfactors.

Hinrich hit 9 of 11 shots and nailed three 3-pointers. Belinelli and Nate Robinson (11 points) also hit three, and the Bulls were 9 of 17 overall from long range.

Joakim Noah added 13 rebounds and six blocks after sitting out the final 22 minutes, 53 seconds of Sunday’s loss to Memphis.

Carlos Boozer chipped in with 14 points and six rebounds. Richard Hamilton scored 13, although he shot just 6 of 18. Jimmy Butler, making his second straight start with Luol Deng (sore right hamstring) sidelined, scored 10. And Chicago won this one in regulation after playing three straight overtime games.

Steve Nash led the Lakers with 18 points, but Bryant finished with just 16 on 7-of-22 shooting. That ended a run of 24 games with 20 or more points.

Howard, meanwhile, had just eight points and nine rebounds while picking up five fouls. Clark and Metta World Peace scored 12 apiece, and Gasol added 15 points and 12 rebounds in his new reserve role.

D’Antoni made the switch because he wanted a quicker lineup. Even so, it was an eye-opening move, considering Gasol scored 25 at Toronto on Sunday.

“It isn’t against him, it’s better for us right now,” D’Antoni said before the game. “We’re going to try to work through it and see what we can do. Things do change, things happen, I can’t see the future but we’re ready to go forward.”

Game notes

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said star PG Derrick Rose is “very close” to starting full contact drills in practice, the next step in his recovery from a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. Could it happen this week? “Yeah — it could,” Thibodeau said. Is it scheduled to happen this week? Thibodeau said, “It could.” He also said Rose will have to go through full-contact drills “for an extended amount of time” and that he won’t be playing after “one or two days of contact.”

The post Bulls pull away late to top spiraling Lakers appeared first on IdealCapper.

Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 20 rebounds, and Joakim Noah added 14 points and 13 boards as the Bulls won their 14th straight road game on a Friday. They haven’t lost since April 2011.

Rajon Rondo scored a season-high 30 points for Boston before fouling out with 1:16 to play in overtime.

Kevin Garnett had 16 points and Paul Pierce passed former Celtics star Robert Parish for 22nd on the NBA’s career scoring list by chipping in 13 points. Pierce has 23,342 points and Parish 23,334.

The post Marco Bellinelli’s late jumper gives Bulls 14th straight Friday road win appeared first on IdealCapper.

Following one missed shot, the ball rolled between forward Carlos Boozer’s legs as he fell on his backside, yet he still managed to scoop it up and feed a teammate for two more second-chance points for Chicago.

Dominating on the glass and the hardwood, the Bulls became only the third visiting team to win in Miami this season, beating the Heat 96-89 on Friday night.

Chicago outrebounded Miami 48-28. The Bulls had 19 offensive rebounds to four for the Heat.

“Everybody in both locker rooms understands what the overwhelming key to the game was,” Miami coach Erik Spoelstra said. “They were throwing it up there and playing volleyball against us.”

The Eastern Conference-leading Heat fell to 15-3 at home. Their other home defeats came against the Knicks and Warriors.

“It always feels good to beat the Heat,” said center Joakim Noah, who had 12 rebounds. “And we get a night out in the city, so we’re hyped right now. We haven’t been playing great basketball and this is probably our biggest win of the year against the defending champs. It feels good.”

The first meeting between the teams this season was a bruiser, and the Bulls repeatedly outfought and outfoxed Miami on the boards.

The Heat, who are last in the NBA in rebounds, had won four games this season when outrebounded by 15 or more. But this time the disparity beat them.

“It’s just the will of going to do it,” LeBron James said. “It’s a reoccurrence. You give a team like this extra possessions, they’re going to capitalize.”

James scored 30 points, extending his streak of scoring at least 20 points to 31 consecutive games this season, and 52 games in a row overall when including last year’s playoff run. He has scored at least 25 in eight consecutive games.

But he had just six rebounds, which led the Heat. Boozer had 12 rebounds for Chicago, and Taj Gibson added nine in 17 minutes.

The Bulls’ final offensive rebound helped seal the win. Jimmy Butler grabbed it and fed Boozer for a layup with 46 seconds left to put them up 93-86.

Chicago had 20 second-chance points to seven for Miami.

“It’s killing us, plain and simple,” said Heat center Chris Bosh, who had one offensive rebound in 38 minutes. “Is it scheme? Is it mental? We’d better figure it out.”

Boozer scored 27 points after totaling a season-high 31 on Wednesday at Orlando. Noah, back after missing one game with flu-like symptoms, had 13 points.

They set the tone with their physical play.

“I don’t know if that small ball is going to work against us,” Noah said. “Not with guys like Carlos Boozer in the game.”

While the Heat were often on their heels, they kept coming back. A jarring foul by Kirk Hinrich near the sideline staggered James and he collapsed on the Bulls bench, then was helped to his feet by coach Tom Thibodeau.

Seconds later, James sank a 3.

Noah drew a flagrant foul when he tackled James around the neck with one arm to stop a drive early in the fourth quarter. The violation led to a four-point possession for the Heat, with James sinking four consecutive free throws.

The next time Miami had the ball, James drove for a dunk that cut Chicago’s lead to 75-72. But the Heat got no closer.

“We understand how important rebounding is,” Thibodeau said, “and it showed tonight.”

Chicago won with more than mere muscle. The Bulls’ 5-foot-9 Nate Robinson made a leaping interception of a James pass, then smartly bounced the ball off Miami’s Shane Battier to avoid traveling. The ball dribbled out of bounds, allowing Chicago to keep possession.

Robinson’s 3-pointer with 6 1/2 minutes left gave the Bulls their biggest lead, 83-73.

The Bulls pounded the boards from the start and scored the final 10 points of the first quarter for a 26-22 lead. Butler’s buzzer-beater to end the first half put them up 49-48.

Marco Belinelli sank a 3-pointer to put Chicago up 75-66 after three quarters.

The Heat had won their past two games, both in overtime, but the Bulls wouldn’t let them get to OT.

Game notes

Regarding All-Star voting, James said with a chuckle: “It looks like I’m going to be a starter. Surprising.” … The Bulls are 9-8 home and 9-5 on the road. … Chicago improved to 8-1 on the road against the Eastern Conference.

The post Carlos Boozer, Bulls beat up Heat on glass, post road win appeared first on IdealCapper.