This one was not even close. Looking to make a big time statement in their first playoff game in six years, the Brooklyn Nets clobbered a Chicago Bulls team that many thought would be too physical for the finesse of the Nets.
Right out of the gate Brooklyn laid the ground work for a major beat down as they built a 7-2 lead thanks to a handful of driving layups by Brook Lopez and Deron Williams to open the game. The Bulls looked sluggish on both ends of the court; they turned it over twice and missed four of their first five shots as Brookyln built a lead that they would never relinquish.
Whenever Chicago missed an open shot, there was a man in Nets black and white who appropriately answered; in a way Williams three-pointer to give the Nets an 11-6 lead off of a bad pass by Carlos Boozer was a metaphor for the entire evening.
In the first quarter alone, the Bulls were a putrid 8-of-23 (30%) including 1-of-7 from inside the paint, as the Nets both rebounded well, forced bad shots and turnovers; Reggie Evans was huge for Brooklyn recording 12 defensive rebounds on the night. The biggest testament to this game was points in the paint. The Nets had 56 points inside the paint against a Bulls team that has prided itself on playing solid defense, and Brooklyn made them look silly.
The size of the Nets front court stood strong throughout the course of the night, as they dominated the boards. In the first half Williams (22 points) and Lopez (21 points) dominated inside the paint, then in second half, against a gassed Bulls team, Andray Blatche joined the party dropping 12 points on the Bulls.
The Nets had six players in double figures in the victory.
Game two is Monday in Brooklyn.
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