Sluggish Bulls let one slip away

The Bulls were pushing their luck all night in New Jersey with missed free throws, poor interior defense and a disastrous third quarter.

They managed to erase a 13-point deficit in the fourth quarter, but their luck ran out in the waning seconds.

After Bulls guard C.J. Watson tied the score by hitting 2 free throws with 11.1 seconds on the clock, the Nets came back and tried to throw a lob pass to center Brook Lopez. Watson jumped up to deflect the pass, but the loose ball landed in the hands of New Jersey guard Sasha Vujacic, whose lay-in with 5.3 seconds left dealt the Bulls a 96-94 loss on Wednesday in Newark.

With no timeouts left, Derrick Rose decided not to attack the rim and missed a contested 3-pointer as time expired.

“You've got to come up with the loose ball,” Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. “C.J. made a good play to get a piece of the ball, then we've got to scramble and come up with it.”

The Bulls (23-11) arrived in town early Wednesday morning after playing Toronto at home on Tuesday night. The Nets, meanwhile, hadn't played since Saturday, but they had lost five in a row and 14 of their last 17 games.

This was the Bulls' second loss of the year to a team with a losing record.

“We struggled all night,” Thibodeau added. “They played us well in Chicago (last Friday). I knew it would be a tough game. We didn't establish ourselves defensively to start the game, so it was a long night for us.”

Rose led the Bulls with 21 points, but he was credited with just 1 assist. Luol Deng added 17 points. New Jersey (10-25) was led by power forward Kris Humphries with 20 points.

The Bulls led 47-46 at halftime, then brought little energy to the floor in the third quarter. The Nets hit 13 of 19 shots from the field and outscored the Bulls 32-18 to open a 13-point lead heading into the fourth.

With four reserves and Deng on the court, the Bulls mounted a comeback and closed within 85-84 with 4:55 left on a Kyle Korver 3-pointer.

New Jersey guard Devin Harris led the home team on an 8-0 run, but Rose answered with a 3-point play and 3-point basket before a fastbreak lay- in by Ronnie Brewer made it 93-92 with 1:45 remaining.

The Bulls got a defensive stop, but Watson missed a 3-point attempt. Lopez hit 1of 2 free throws to put the Nets up by 2, then Deng missed a pair at the foul line that could have tied the score with 34 seconds left. The Bulls hit 20 of 30 free throws on the night.

After Harris shot an air ball, Watson pump-faked Vujacic into the air and drew a foul in the corner. The referees checked the replay to find that Watson stepped on the 3-point line as he faked, giving him 2 shots instead of 3.

Carlos Boozer (12 points, 9 rebounds) didn't play in the fourth quarter as Thibodeau stuck with a smaller lineup.

“You've got to talk to Thibs about that,” Boozer said. “That was a coaching decision.”

“We just finished with the group that was going well,” Thibodeau said.

Mike McGraw's game tracker

<b>Too little, too late: </b>The Bulls were asking for trouble by falling behind by 13 points after three quarters. Trouble arrived when Nets guard Sasha Vujacic grabbed a deflected lob pass and scored the game-winning basket with 5.3 seconds remaining.

<b>Boozer stays on bench: </b>Power forward Carlos Boozer didn't play in the fourth quarter as coach Tom Thibodeau went to a smaller lineup and stuck with most of the same guys who erased the 13-point deficit.

<b>Nets in need: </b>While the Bulls were disappointed with the result, New Jersey rejoiced. “Boy, we got a good bounce,” Nets coach Avery Johnson said. “As hard as we've been working recently, we needed something fortunate to happen.”