The Nets played spoiler Friday night, keeping the Bulls out of eighth place with a thrilling double-overtime win at the Izod Center. Chicago took control early and led by as many as 11 points midway through the second quarter, but a 16-4 Nets run gave them a brief lead just before halftime, providing a glimpse of what was to come.
The game went back and forth for most of the third quarter and the Nets blew a 12-point lead in the fourth, but Brook Lopez sent the game to overtime with a one-handed throwdown off a Courtney Lee miss with 0.1 left in regulation.
The Bulls scored the first seven points of the first overtime, but the Nets came back, Lopez tied it again with a pair of free throws with 12.8 seconds left, and Derrick Rose missed a potential game-winner at the buzzer. The Nets then scored the first seven points of the second OT and rolled to an 11-point win, their second over the Bulls this season.
Terrence Williams recovered well from his rough night on Wednesday, scoring a career-high 27 points and adding 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his first career triple-double. The final assist came with 17 seconds left in the second overtime on a fast-break dunk by Lopez, who finished with 26 points and 14 boards. Yi Jianlian had a double-double of his own, while Lee and Devin Harris combined for 35 points in the backcourt.
Minnesota lost to the Lakers, so the Nets can still tie them at 15 wins.
- Boxscore - NBA.com
- First Half Highlights (Video) - NBA.com
- Williams triple double helps Nets play spoiler - Tom Canavan - AP
- Nets Win Thriller - Al Iannazzone - In the 'Zzone
- Nets thinking forward for their future - Al Iannazzone - The Record
- A triple-double and double-overtime win - Al Iannazzone - The Nets Insider
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Nets' Williams thrills in double-overtime win - Fred Kerber - New York Post
- Nets pull through to beat Bulls, 127-116, in second OT - Julian Garcia - New York Daily News
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Williams fuels Nets in double-overtime thriller (with Audio) - Gregory Hrinya - Examiner
- Three key calls favor Nets in crushing loss for Bulls - Chris Sheridan - ESPN
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Bulls' season comes down to Sunday - Nick Friedell - ESPN Chicago
- Bulls drop 127-116 decision to Nets in double overtime - K.C. Johnson - Chicago Tribune
- Confusion over Noah’s minute limit adds to debacle - K.C. Johnson - Chicago Tribune
- A double-OT disaster for Bulls - John Jackson - Chicago Sun-Times
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Forman says Del Negro didn't have to pull Noah in OT - John Jackson - Chicago Sun-Times
- Net again! Bulls drop another to NBA's worst - Mike McGraw - Chicago Daily Herald
- These Bulls can't beat Toronto - Mike McGraw - Chicago Daily Herald
- Nets victory stalls Bulls' NBA playoff push - Agence France Presse
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T-Will's Triple-Double Too Much in 2 OTs - Ben Couch - New Jersey Nets
- Playoffs now hang on Sunday as Bulls lose to Nets - Sam Smith - Chicago Bulls
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Williams Drops Triple-Double on Bulls - Alex Raskin - HoopsWorld
- Quick Recap: Nets 127 – Bulls 116 - Sebastian Pruiti - Nets Are Scorching
- One Bulls hand doesn't know when the other is choking - Blog-a-Bull
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T-Will messes around and gets a triple-double - Mike Rutherford - Card Chronicle
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Move of the Night - Terrence Williams (Video) - NBA.com