NBA

Chicago Bulls at Brooklyn Nets

· National Basketball Association
3-3, 2-2 Away
Final
112 - 120

3-3, 2-1 Home

Can Thomas scores 32 points in the Nets' 120-112 victory over the Bulls

Ben Simmons shows off vision with half-court dime

Thomas scored eight straight points to give the Nets a 118-109 lead with 1:52 left.

Cam Johnson added 14 points in Brooklyn's second straight victory. Nic Claxton and Keon Johnson each had 12 points, and Ben Simmons had eight points, 11 assists and eight rebounds.

Nikola Vucevic led Chicago with 28 points on 10-of-11 shooting and had 11 rebounds. Zach LaVine and Coby White each added 21 points, with White going 5 of 9 from 3-point range.

Takeaways Bulls: Chicago trailed by 10 in the third quarter with 9:35 minutes remaining before outscoring the Nets 30-17, thanks to 13 points from Vucevic.

Nets: Thomas entered the day as the NBA’s leader in fourth-quarter points with an average of 12.2.

Key moment Brooklyn led by a point with 4:03 left when Thomas outscored the Bulls 10-2 to extend the lead 118-109. Thomas hit a pair of free throws and followed LaVine’s layup with a layup of his own to make 112-109. He then hit a 3-pointer on Brooklyn’s following possession off Ayo Dosunmu's miss. Chicago missed its next three shots as Thomas hit a 3 to seal.

Key stat Vucevic flirted with perfections, hitting his first 10 shots from the field. His only miss was a 3-pointer midway through the fourth quarter.

Up next The Nets host Detroit on Sunday, while the Bulls return home to face Utah on Monday night.

Regular Season Series

BKN leads series 1-0

Matchup Prediction

Nets: 49.2%
Bulls: 50.8%
*According to ESPN's Basketball Power Index

Recent Plays

4th 0.0 End of Game 112 - 120
4th 0.0 End of the 4th Quarter 112 - 120
4th 10.1 shot clock turnover 112 - 120
4th 28.2 Talen Horton-Tucker enters the game for Nikola Vucevic 112 - 120
4th 28.2 Ayo Dosunmu enters the game for Zach LaVine 112 - 120

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/chi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originCHI https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nba/500/bkn.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBKN
38-88 FG 49-94
43.2 Field Goal % 52.1
17-44 3PT 11-36
38.6 Three Point % 30.6
19-24 FT 11-13
79.2 Free Throw % 84.6
44 Rebounds 46
10 Offensive Rebounds 9
34 Defensive Rebounds 37
24 Assists 34
5 Steals 11
3 Blocks 6
16 Turnovers 10
0 Team Turnovers 1
16 Total Turnovers 11
0 Technical Fouls 0
0 Total Technical Fouls 0
0 Flagrant Fouls 0
13 Points Conceded Off Turnovers 14
10 Fast Break Points 19
40 Points in Paint 66
15 Fouls 20
4 Largest Lead 17

Game Information

Barclays Center

Location: Brooklyn, NY
Attendance: 17,977 · Capacity:

2024-25 Central Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Cleveland 16 1 .941 - W1
Detroit 7 9 .438 8.5 L1
Indiana 6 9 .400 9 L2
Milwaukee 6 9 .400 9 W2
Chicago 6 10 .375 9.5 L1

2024-25 Atlantic Standings

TEAM W L PCT GB STRK
Boston 12 3 .800 - W3
New York 9 6 .600 3 W4
Brooklyn 6 9 .400 6 W1
Toronto 3 12 .200 9 W1
Philadelphia 2 12 .143 9.5 L5
Full Standings

NBA News

Sources: Luka Doncic has wrist strain, out at least a week

Sources: Luka Doncic has wrist strain, out at least a week

Mavericks star Luka Doncic has sustained a right wrist strain and will miss at least one week, sources told ESPN.

Stephen A. reacts to LeBron taking break from social media

Stephen A. reacts to LeBron taking break from social media

Stephen A. Smith discusses LeBron James deciding to take a break from social media.

Stat Stories: Wednesday's standout NBA fantasy performances

Stat Stories: Wednesday's standout NBA fantasy performances

Check out some of the top performers in fantasy NBA from Wednesday, including Giannis Antetokounmpo and Jalen Williams.

NBA betting: Which favorites, longshots should you bet on for Most Improved Player?

NBA betting: Which favorites, longshots should you bet on for Most Improved Player?

Eric Moody updates the NBA's Most Improved Player race and points out which players are the best betting values and ones to watch.

How Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama are evolving together

How Chris Paul and Victor Wembanyama are evolving together

The Hall of Fame point guard joined the sophomore phenom on the San Antonio Spurs this season.