AP
The Brooklyn Nets came crashing back to Earth on Earth Day, dropping the second game of their best-of-seven series to the Bulls, 90-82. The teams now head to Chicago with the first round playoff tilt knotted at one game apiece.
There was a nervous energy to the start of Game Two and the Nets came out fired-up following their blowout win Saturday night, but it wouldn't translate to good basketball. A chippy first quarter gave way to a turnover-filled half, one the Nets were lucky to see themselves down only 47-46, thanks to C.J. Watson's buzzer-beating three to close out the first 24-minutes.
Joakim Noah remains the dark-horse and arguably most important person in this series. His 13 first half minutes nearly matched his entire output for Game One and despite playing through obvious pain, Chicago continued to push the ball through the big man. This strengthened the Bulls' interior defense, something that was sorely lacking on Saturday Night when the Nets made 80% of the attempts in the second quarter.
"He's [Noah] willing it is what he's doing, and to his credit," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He started off the game and helped set the tone. I thought overall Jo was very rusty in the first game, but he willed it again tonight. We needed every bit of it... To me, it's obvious we're a much better team with him on the floor."
Brooklyn countered by leaving C.J. Watson on the floor with Deron Williams and Joe Johnson, forcing the Bulls to stay small with Nate Robinson and Kirk Hinrich, opening up a big shooting lane just inside the three-point arc for Brook Lopez. Three consecutive buckets off the pick-and-roll by the Nets center helped spur a second quarter surge that allowed them to climb back into the game. Unfortunately for the Nets, Chicago was up to the task, hitting 63% of their shots in the second quarter, and 51% for the half.
"It was hard to settle on the rotation and see what groups are working," Thibodeau admitted. "Their size up front and rebounding are a concern. With Jo's minutes restriction, you have to find that balance."
The Bulls would tighten up their defense in the second half and open a fourteen point advantage—their biggest of the game—two-minutes into the fourth quarter. The Nets weren't making things easy on themselves either. The formula of hitting outside jumpers while grabbing nearly twice as many rebounds was noticeably missing in Game Two, especially when Noah was on the court.
"When they made an adjustment or when they increased the defensive pressure, we didn't handle it or react as well as we need to," Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo said.
Every time Brooklyn started to chip away, getting as close as four with just under four minutes left in the game, Noah proved to be the difference. He finished with 25 minutes and 10 boards, and more importantly provided a strong defensive presence on both ends of the floor, eliminating the clean touches down low the Nets enjoyed in game one.
"We have to do a better job defensively next game." Deron Williams said after the game. "I've got to do a better job of everything really. This was a bad one for me."
Of all the strengths the Nets have displayed this season, playing in the face of adversity has not been on of them. With the hype surrounding Brooklyn's game one blowout having quickly evaporated, the Bulls take home-court advantage and the momentum back to Chicago. How the Nets respond will dictate the the course of the series. This could prove to be a turning point, and only time will tell which side of history the Nets land.
