CHICAGO -- Chicago Bulls forward Jimmy Butler insists that he never dreams of making buzzer-beater shots.

"I don't think about it," Butler said. "I hope it never comes down to that, to tell you the truth. I just want to win by a couple possessions so there are no nerves running through anybody."

On Wednesday night, Butler had no choice but to embrace the drama as the final seconds ticked down against the Brooklyn Nets. He hit a 20-foot jump shot for his first career buzzer-beater to lift the Bulls to a 101-99 win.

Teammates mobbed Butler near center court after his step-back shot over the outstretched arms of Nets forward Bojan Bogdanovic. Butler finished with 40 points on 14 of 29 shooting to match a season high. He also grabbed 11 rebounds to post his fourth double-double of the season.

"He was phenomenal, obviously," Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. "He put the team on his shoulders. He willed them to the finish line. He hit every one of them. He took the ball to the middle with ball screens, and we let him go to work. He made the right play time and time again."

Chicago (16-16) erased a seven-point deficit in the final three minutes of the game to earn its second consecutive win. Butler scored nine points in the final 2:24 as the Bulls finished the game on an 11-2 run.

Brooklyn (8-23) lost its 12th straight road game despite leading for most of the fourth quarter. The Nets were led in scoring by center Brook Lopez, who shot 5 of 6 from beyond the arc and finished with 33 points.

Nets coach Kenny Atkinson stood by his decision not to double-team Butler on the final possession. Bogdanovic (6-8, 225 pounds) played Butler closely to force a difficult shot from just inside the 3-point line.

"We were going to play him straight up," Atkinson said. "If we were scripting something up, that's the type of shot (we would like), a highly contested two with a pretty tall guy on him. I thought it was pretty good defense."

Bulls guard Dwyane Wade left early in the fourth quarter and did not return because of a migraine. Wade finished with 16 points on 5 of 16 shooting.

During a postgame interview in front of his locker, Wade asked television camera operators not to use their bright lights because his migraine lingered.

"I had a headache before the game," Wade said. "I took a fall in the second half. I didn't hit my head, but I guess the way my body jerked and reacted kind of triggered my headache back. I lost a little vision in my eye. I came out on the court, I couldn't see the rim. My wife was talking, I couldn't see her. So I decided to come out and come in the back and try to put ice on my neck and take some medicine."

Butler also spent time on the bench after he rolled his ankle with about five minutes to go in the fourth quarter. He returned to the game less than a minute later with the Bulls trailing 93-88.

"It hurt for a little bit," Butler said. "It still hurts for a little bit now. But I wanted to play. I knew 'D-Wade' was in the back, so I had to insert myself back into the lineup and made a couple shots."

Tensions escalated late in the game as Bulls forward Nikola Mirotic and Nets forward Rondae Hollis-Jefferson each received technical fouls with 4:24 to play. Mirotic tried to retrieve the ball from the Nets bench while play was stopped, but Hollis-Jefferson refused to hand over the ball. The two jostled for the ball and exchanged words before teammates intervened.

Brooklyn established a 49-46 halftime lead after a back-and-forth first half that included seven ties and eight lead changes.

"We gave ourselves a shot," Lopez said. "We need to play like that every night."

NOTES: Nets G Jeremy Lin did not play two days after he strained his left hamstring against the Charlotte Hornets. The same injury caused Lin to miss 17 games earlier this season. He is averaging 13.9 points and 5.8 assists in 12 games. ... Bulls F Doug McDermott scored seven points off the bench after missing one game because of a bruised left shin. The former Creighton standout has missed 11 games this season because of injuries. ... Nets F Bojan Bogdanovic returned to the starting lineup after coming off the bench to score 26 points Monday against the Hornets. ... Nets G Isaiah Whitehead earned his 17th start of the season and his first since Dec. 3. ... Bulls G R.J. Hunter and F Paul Zipser were inactive.