Chicago Bulls Beat Brooklyn Nets 90-82, Tie Playoff Series at 1-1

The Chicago Bulls lost Game 1 to the Brooklyn Nets 106-89, thanks in large part to a lack of effort on both ends of the floor.

However, in Game 2, they played with much more intensity and defeated the Nets 90-82, sending the series back to Chicago tied at one game apiece.

Let’s take quick look at how the Bulls were able to bounce back following a lackluster showing in the opener.

Joakim Noah

Noah has been struggling since returning from his plantar fasciitis injury and it showed in Game 1 as he recorded just four points and five rebounds in 13 minutes of action.

In Game 2, Noah was back to his old self, scoring 11 points and pulling down 10 rebounds, while playing 25 minutes.

More importantly, Noah did most of his damage in the fourth quarter, also known as crunch time, scoring nine points and grabbing six rebounds to help hold off the Nets when they had trimmed a double-digit deficit to four points.

Per Kieran Darcy of ESPN Chicago, Noah had this to say about his performance:

"

Just trying to affect the game. Just find a way. I wasn't really thinking too much. I was just hooping. Trying to make plays.

"

On a night when his team needed him the most, Noah came through in a big way.

 

Kirk Hinrich solid defense on Deron Williams

Williams had little trouble scoring against the Bulls’ defense in Game 1, torching them for 22 points and seven assists.

That would not be the case in Game 2. With Kirk Hinrich guarding him for most of the game, Williams was limited to just eight points on 1-of-9 shooting from the field.

While Williams did hand out 10 assists, his impact on this game wasn’t nearly what it was a few nights ago.

Although Hinrich did not have a good shooting night (4-for-10), he did manage to score 13 points to go along with five assists.

This was a solid outing for the Bulls’ guard and the team’s defensive success will rely heavily on their ability to find different ways to contain Williams for the remainder of the series.

 

Luol Deng sighting

Deng struggled against his counterpart Gerald Wallace in Game 1, scoring just six points, while connecting on just three of his 11 shot attempts.

As he has done all season, Deng responded following a bad outing, scoring 15 points, grabbing 10 rebounds and dishing out four assists.

Deng also played better defensively, limiting Wallace to just two points on 1-of-7 from the field.

Per Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times, Fellow All-Star teammate Noah had this to say about Deng’s performance:

"

We need Lu. He’s the glue to this team. We need Lu aggressive, offensively and defensively. He’s been doing that for us all year. We know that to get past Brooklyn, we need Luol Deng. 

"

 I previously mentioned that the Bulls would need their leading scorer to step up if they were going to have any success in the playoffs and Deng did exactly that in Game 2.

In the final analysis, this was the biggest game for the Bulls this season and they played well in a game they had to have. But they must continue to play at a high level if they are going to advance past the first round.