Nets avoid elimination again, force Game 7 vs. Chicago

NETS 95, Bulls 92 

After blowing a 14-point lead late in Game 4, and losing that contest 142-134 in triple overtime, it appeared that the Brooklyn Nets were destined for playoff elimination in this first round series against the Chicago Bulls.


The Nets were trailing three games to one, instead of being tied two games a piece after that Saturday matinee meltdown in the Windy City; their star player Deron Williams was in the midst of a terrible funk, and the only offense the Nets were getting on a consistent basis was from Brook Lopez, and occasionally from Josh Johnson.

Plus this was a team not known for its spunk and grit. Hardly, when most think of the Nets in 2012-2013 they think of a team that gets easily complacent, plays inconsistent too often, and, yes, even got its coach, Avery Johnson, fired weeks after winning Coach of the Month to start the season.

So nobody would have been stunned if the Nets went quietly against the Bulls, but this team is a lot different than we previously thought. The Nets not only won Game 5 convincingly at home; they won their first game in Chicago this season, on Thursday night in a critical Game 6 to force Game 7 back at their shiny new building on Flatbush Ave., in Brooklyn.

While the Nets didn't shoot well in Game 6, the fact is nobody did on either side, as Game 6 proved to be a true defensive stand-off with the Nets never relinquishing their early lead. After Carlos Boozer sunk a 13-foot jump shot to give the Bulls a brief 14-13 lead in the first quarter, Brook Lopez answered with a 20-footer to give Brooklyn the lead right back -- they never looked back.

Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Lopez would hit the next three shots for the Nets, building a 21-17 edge. Whenever the Bulls tried to answer, someone in the black and white jersey would answer. Case in point, after Joakim Noah's jump shot tied the game at 27, Brooklyn sailed to a 6-0 run to end the quarter thanks to a bucket by Johnson and a pair by Lopez.

The trend would continue for the rest of the night as Chicago could never overcome even the slimmest of margins against the Nets.

At one point Chicago cut the Nets lead to two-points on Marco Belinelli's 20-foot jumper, but the Nets held firm--they connected on a couple of free throws, and Chicago helped out the Nets cause by missing three long range shots to end third quarter, keeping the Nets up 75-71.

Later with Brooklyn holding onto a five-point lead in the fourth, Chicago missed seven consecutive shots in a span of two minutes. The Nets had done nothing offensively themselves, but because of Chicago's poor shooting in the perimeter, it gave the Nets renewed life.

After Belinelli missed a 26-foot three for the Bulls, C.J. Watson made Chicago pay when he nailed a three-pointer for the Nets to extend the lead to 81-73.

Once again Chicago had a decent comeback after Boozer, Jimmy Butler, and Nate Robinson connected on a series of shots to cut the Nets' lead down to four points, 83-79. And like clockwork, with the Bulls back to within striking distance they couldn't hit the side of barn when they needed to the most. 

 Taj Gibson missed a jumper.

Joakim Noah missed a tip in.

Marco Belinelli missed another layup.

The Nets, once again, had renewed life.

Williams added a pair of free throws, and Lopez dropped a slam dunk to keep the Nets afloat, 87-83. But, the Bulls continued to hang around. Belinelli, inspite of his big misses earlier in the quarter, hit a bucket to cut the Nets lead back down to two, 90-88.

But, the resilient Nets hung in there. Andray Blatche hit a key jump shot to extend the lead back to four, 92-88. Then, when things got really interesting Blatche hit three of four free-throw attempts down the stretch to keep Brooklyn in front 95-92.

Even with Blatche's efforts the game was still far from over. With :19 seconds to play the Bulls still had a shot. Belinelli took a chance at a three-pointer, but his shot was off; Noah retrieved the rebound, but as he came down his foot landed out of bounds -- turning the ball back over to the Nets to ice the contest and force Game 7. 

It wasn't pretty, but the Nets have found a way to send this series back to Brooklyn for a winner-take all Game 7. This is going to be fun. The winner gets to play the Miami Heat in the next round -- so much for the fun.