By Kyle Soppe
The shorthanded Chicago Bulls used an early run to dominate the New Jersey Nets by a final count of 108-87. That early run was the first 12 minutes, as the Bulls won the first quarter 35-14. The Nets played the visitors even for the next 36 minutes, but the damage had been done.
The Bulls won without much production from Derrick Rose. “The Doctor” was plagued by foul trouble early, and departed for good when back spasms hampered the reigning MVP. In his 11 minutes of action, he recorded more turnovers than assists for the first time this season. His two early personal fouls were his first infractions of the month.
The Bulls scored 105+ points for the third time in less than a week, but this time their defense stepped up as well. The 87 points allowed is the lowest total surrendered by the former top defense in three weeks.
Chicago’s trio of Luol Deng (first game back from injury) Carlos Boozer, and Rose made 19 of their 30 shot attempts and all six of their free throws. The three top scorers on New Jersey shot 17/41 from the field.
Speaking of Deng, he didn’t attempt a free throw in 35 minutes of action. In his last three games, he has played 116 minutes, and attempted only one free throw. His assist + rebound total (4) tied a season low, but the Bulls have won both those games.
Joakim Noah recorded nine points and twelve rebounds, the 18th time this season in which the center had registered more boards than points. Odd enough, this was the second time this season in which Noah has made more free throws than field goal attempts. The Bulls won both games in convincing fashion on the road.
The Bulls made eight more shots from the field than the Nets, but attempted seven less shots. Continuing on that theme, they outscored the home team by 18 from behind the arc, despite attempting fewer long balls. Chicago’s roster had four players knock down multiple treys, while the Nets didn’t have a single player accomplish the feat.
Brian Scalabrine is a crowd pleaser, but not really a productive force on most nights … unless he is playing the Nets. These two teams have only met twice, but Scalabrine has 36.4% of his seasons points against them and 100% of his free throw attempts. He has also made every two point attempt against New Jersey on the season.
Chicago shares the ball as good as any team in the league (rank third with 22.82 assists per game) but Monday night was an exceptional night even by their lofty standards. They handed out 2.23 assists per turnover and totaled an assist on 73% of their field goals. Their 29 helpers were the highest among the 20 teams in action on Monday night.
Deron Williams led the Nets in points and assists for the fifth time in six games. Over that span, the point guard is averaging 23.5 points and 8.5 assists. New Jersey has only won one of those games.
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