Bulls 92, Nets 90: Carlos Boozer had 29 points and 18 rebounds as shorthanded Chicago rallied to defeat host Brooklyn.

Luol Deng scored 18 points and Jimmy Butler added 16 and 10 rebounds as the Bulls (.554) moved one percentage point ahead of Atlanta (.553) for fifth place in the Eastern Conference and pulled within 1 1/2 games of the fourth-place Nets.

Deron Williams had 30 points and 10 assists and Brook Lopez scored 28 for Brooklyn, which led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter before falling to Chicago for the third time in four meetings this season.

Boozer registered his seventh double-double in eight games to help the Bulls to a dominating 46-30 edge on the backboards. He scored 10 points in the third quarter as Chicago cut an 11-point halftime lead to two entering the fourth quarter.

The Bulls went ahead by four points, but Williams sandwiched a pair of three-point plays around a 3-pointer by Joe Johnson to give the Nets a 90-87 lead with 52 seconds left. Luol Deng answered from the corner before Nate Robinson dropped in a floater with 22.7 seconds left for the winning basket.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Johnson scored 12 points in his return to the lineup after missing five games with heel and quadriceps injuries. ... The Bulls were missing Joakim Noah (right foot), Taj Gibson (left knee), Marco Belinelli (abdominal strain) and Richard Hamilton (lower back) in addition to point guard Derrick Rose (knee). ... Nets F Reggie Evans was scoreless but pulled down 13 rebounds - his 12th straight game with at least 10 boards.