Net again! Bulls drop another to NBA's worst

The Bulls are going to wake up this morning and wonder if the nightmare they experienced in New Jersey was real.

With a chance to take a one-game lead over Toronto for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference, they lost in double-overtime to the lowly Nets 127-116 on Friday.

"I hope this makes us stronger, because we have to play tougher to get into the playoffs," said guard Derrick Rose, who scored 25 points before fouling out late.

Make no mistake, the Bulls played poorly against the NBA's worst team. They needed a big finish to erase a 10-point deficit with 4:43 left in the fourth quarter.

At the same time, the game turned on two controversial calls. One was debatable, the other blatantly obvious, but both prevented the Bulls from winning the game.

Playing the second leg of back-to-back games without using much of the bench, they had nothing left for the second overtime.

"I think we gave them 28 points off our turnovers, besides the (10) missed free throws," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "A lot of things in that game. A tough one."

The Bulls led by 7 points with 1:09 remaining in the first overtime, then watched it unravel. First, Courtney Lee drilled a 3-pointer to make it 112-108. Lee then bodied Rose hard in the backcourt and when the ball flew out of bounds, it was given back to the Nets. Devin Harris' driving basket cut the lead to 2.

Then came a play that was almost beyond belief. As Rose drove to the basket, Lee reached in from behind and grabbed a hold of Rose's right forearm, basically conceding a foul to prevent an easy basket and forcing Rose to lose the ball out of bounds.

Despite the obvious foul, referees gave the ball to New Jersey. They even checked the replay, but didn't change the call. On the other end, Brook Lopez had a shot blocked, got the rebound and was fouled. His free throws tied the scored with 12.8 seconds left.

Rose couldn't get to the rim and missed a 20-foot jumper as time expired.

In the fourth quarter, center Brad Miller (27) scored 12 points in the final 4:27 to help the Bulls overcome a 10-point deficit. Rose missed a free throw with 3.6 seconds on the clock, though, which would have given the Bulls a 3-point lead.

New Jersey came back down and Lee missed a 10-foot runner, but Lopez slammed in the rebound with 0.1 seconds on the clock.

The Bulls argued that Lopez touched the ball in the cylinder and it should have been offensive goaltending, but the call stood.

The Bulls (38-41) missed a chance to move a game ahead of Toronto, which lost to Atlanta on Friday. The Bulls will face the Raptors on Sunday at the Air Canada Centre.

<p class="factboxheadblack">Mike McGraw's game tracker

<p class="News">Nets 127, Bulls 116 (2 OTs)</p>

<p class="News"><b>Hard to believe:</b> All kinds of things went wrong in this game. The Bulls played badly enough to lose to the Nets for the second time this season and the referees ignored an obvious foul against Derrick Rose late in the first overtime that allowed New Jersey to tie the score.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Genuine Miller:</b> Veteran center Brad Miller almost single-handedly saved the Bulls, scoring 12 points in the final 4:43 of the fourth quarter to erase a 10-point deficit. But the Nets forced overtime when Brook Lopez tipped in a missed shot with 0.1 seconds on the clock, a play the Bulls thought should have been offensive goaltending.</p>

<p class="News"><b>Toronto waits:</b> If any team wants that eighth playoff spot in the East, the Bulls and Toronto will play Sunday to break the tie in the standings.</p>