Brook Lopez, Joe Johnson push Nets past Bulls
Joe Johnson registered his first double-double this season, scoring 20 points and registering 11 rebounds, to help the Brooklyn Nets beat the Chicago Bulls, 96-82. Brooklyn (15-16) has now won back-to-back games after defeating Sacramento Kings on Monday.
Johnson finished 8-14, in a quality performance offensively. Brook Lopez chipped in 29 points and five rebounds for Brooklyn as well. On 9-15 shooting, including 5-9 from behind the arc, Mike Dunleavy scored 23 points for Chicago in the loss. Pau Gasol added 10 points and seven rebounds.
The Bulls had an eFG% of just 43.0% coupled with a low FTA rate of 17.4. This season, they are winless (0-2) when they fall below 45% and 20.0 in those respective metrics. Conversely, the Nets are undefeated (2-0) when forcing their opponents below those thresholds.
This drops Chicago (22-10) to 2-1 versus Brooklyn on the season.
Coming up next, the Nets play the Orlando Magic, who are 13-22 on the year. The Bulls match up with the Denver Nuggets, currently 13-18 this season. The Nets are 1-0 versus Orlando this season. The Bulls have a 0-1 record against Denver this season.
