Nets stay alive with win over ailing Bulls

CHICAGO (AFP) –

The Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah (L) and Nate Robinson tries to stop the Brooklyn Nets’ Deron Williams on May 2, 2013. The Nets kept their NBA playoff hopes alive with a 95-92 victory over Chicago that forced a deciding game seven in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

The Brooklyn Nets kept their NBA playoff hopes alive with a 95-92 victory over the short-handed Chicago Bulls that forced a deciding game seven in their Eastern Conference first-round series.

Deron Williams scored 17 points and handed out 11 assists for the Nets Thursday. Brook Lopez and Joe Johnson chipped in another 17 points each and Gerald Wallace added 15 for Brooklyn, who will host the series decider on Saturday.

The winner of the series will face reigning NBA champions Miami in the second round. The Heat, led by LeBron James, swept Milwaukee out of the playoffs in four games.

By again staving off elimination, the Nets gave themselves a chance to become just the ninth NBA team to come back from a 3-1 deficit to win a best-of-seven series.

“We found a way to win,” said Nets coach P.J. Carlesimo. “I’ve lost track of days. Is today Saturday? Thursday? We were here last Saturday and weren’t looking real good.

The Chicago Bulls’ Marco Belinelli (L) shoots past Gerald Wallace of the Brooklyn Nets on May 2, 2013. Belinelli led the Bulls with 22 points, but missed a potential equalizing three-pointer on Chicago’s final possession.

“We haven’t turned the corner, but we’re looking a lot better than we looked when we left here last Saturday.”

The Nets shot just 28 percent from the field in the second half, but they held on against a Bulls team playing without starting point guard Kirk Hinrich for the second straight game because of a calf injury.

Chicago were also without Britain’s Luol Deng, who was sidelined by the flu.

Deng led Chicago in scoring in the regular season, averaging 16.5 points per game and had averaged 13.8 points and 7.6 rebounds over the first five post-season meetings with the Nets.

“You have to be mentally tough when you face adversity,” said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau, whose team made do all season without star Derrick Rose, who has yet to return from a knee injury suffered in last year’s playoffs.

“We talk about that all the time. We have to respond to the challenge.”

Chicago’s Nate Robinson and Taj Gibson played through illness, Robinson scoring 18 points.

The Chicago Bulls’ Nate Robinson (R) passes past Gerald Wallace (2nd L) and Brook Lopez of the Brooklyn Nets on May 2, 2013. A Robinson jump shot capped an 8-2 scoring run for Chicago that trimmed the deficit to 85-83 with 4:36 remaining.

Marco Belinelli led the Bulls with 22 points, but missed a potential equalizing three-pointer on Chicago’s final possession.

Noah and Carlos Boozer each notched double-doubles, Noah delivering 14 points and 15 rebounds and Boozer contributing 14 points and 13 rebounds.

After running away with game five to avoid elimination, the Nets had to battle until the end Thursday against the weakened Bulls — even though Chicago’s last lead of the night came with 2:31 to play in the first quarter.

The Bulls trailed by as many as eight points in the fourth period — but they wouldn’t go away.

Robinson’s jump shot capped an 8-2 scoring run for Chicago that trimmed the deficit to 85-83 with 4:36 remaining.

The Bulls were down 92-90 when Robinson missed and Boozer was called for his sixth foul as he went for the rebound with 32 seconds to play.

Brooklyn’s Andray Blatche made one of two free throws, then Chicago’s Nazr Mohammed, fed by Noah, made a layup that left the Bulls down just one, 93-92.

Blatche stretched Brooklyn’s lead back to three with two free throws and with 7.9 seconds remaining Belinelli brushed the rim with a three-point attempt. Noah chased down the rebound but stepped out of bounds. The ensuing inbounds resulted in a jump ball controlled by the Nets to seal the win.