The prospect of a first-round matchup with the Bulls (who had tied the Cavs for the second seed on Thursday) was a promising one for the Nets. Coming into Friday's game at the United Center, the Nets were 16-4 against Chicago in the Jason Kidd era, including two quality wins this season. But playing without Ben Wallace and Andres Nocioni, the Bulls completely outworked and outplayed the Nets Friday night, taking away whatever momentum New Jersey had from the last five games. The Bulls opened the game on a 16-5 run and never looked back, holding the Nets to just 34 percent shooting for the game. Both teams played a small linuep for most of the night and the Nets' Big Three were thoroughly outproduced by Kirk Hinrich, Ben Gordon and Luol Deng, who combined for 71 points and 24 rebounds while shooting 52 percent.
- Boxscore - NBA.com
- Game Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- Gordon, Bulls Cruise Past Nets - AP
- Bulls hit stride, run over Nets - Dave D'Alessandro - Star-Ledger
- Nets are routed in Chicago - Julian Garcia - New York Daily News
- Road Bump - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Gordon and Bulls Deal a Blow to the Nets’ Confidence - John Eligon - New York Times
- Nets Big Three Fail to Step Up - Al Iannazzone - YES Network
- Lawrence Frank Interview (Video) - YES Network
- Richard Jefferson Interview (Video) - YES Network
- Courtside Chatter (Video) - YES Network
- This time, Bulls blow away Nets - K.C. Johnson - Chicago Tribune
- Nocioni warms up just to sit on bench - K.C. Johnson - Chicago Tribune
- Message in a throttle - Brian Hanley - Chicago Sun-Times
- Net gain for Gordon, Bulls - Mike McGraw - Arlington Heights Daily Herald
- Pitiful Nets Bull-dozed - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- Bulls in high gear - Paul Ladewski - Daily Southtown
- Photo Gallery: New Jersey Nets vs. Chicago Bulls - M. Spencer Green - AP
- Nets Notebook - Al Iannazzone - The Record