Where: Izod Center, East Rutherford, New Jersey
Officials: #24 Mike Callahan, #42 Eric Lewis, #66 Haywoode Workman
Attendance: 18351
Derrick Rose scored 21 points and Luol Deng added 19 as the Chicago Bulls beat the host New Jersey Nets 84-73 on Thursday.
Omer Asik added 11 points and a career-high 16 rebounds for Chicago (49-18), which moved a half-game ahead of the Boston Celtics in the race for the Eastern Conference’s top seed.
Brook Lopez scored 22 points for New Jersey (22-44), which had its five-game winning streak snapped.
Deng broke a tie with a 19-footer to give the Bulls a 71-69 lead with 3:57 remaining. Rose added a layup 40 seconds later and the Bulls took a 10-point lead on Kurt Thomas’ basket with one minute left.
Chicago led by 10 after three quarters but New Jersey started the final period with a 9-2 run to move within 62-59 on Sasha Vujacic’s 3-point basket with 8:01 to play. The Nets caught the Bulls at 65 on Lopez’s basket with 5:50 left.
Kris Humphries added 13 points and 16 rebounds for the Nets, while Vujacic also scored 13 points.
| Chicago | Brooklyn | |
| Derrick Rose 21 | Scoring | Brook Lopez 22 |
| Joakim Noah 6 | Assists | Deron Williams 11 |
| Omer Asik 16 | Rebounds | Kris Humphries 16 |
| Derrick Rose 5 | Free Throws Made | Brook Lopez 6 |
| Derrick Rose 2 | Steals | Anthony Morrow 1 |
| Omer Asik 2 | Blocks | Kris Humphries 5 |
| Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
| Chicago | 84 | 40.7 | 4-20 | 14-22 | 19 | 50 | 6 | 6 | 13 |
| Brooklyn | 73 | 34.9 | 3-19 | 12-18 | 22 | 46 | 8 | 2 | 13 |
- Brooklyn will play their next game on the road against Milwaukee. The Nets have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
- Chicago will play their next game on the road against Indiana. The Bulls have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.