EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J–Derrick Rose doesn’t remember what he was doing on April 17, 2001.
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J–Derrick Rose doesn’t remember what he was doing on April 17, 2001.
“I was in grammar school, probably in the sixth grade,” Rose said after leading the Chicago Bulls to their first victory in New Jersey since that date, 100-87 over the Nets on Monday night.
The No. 1 overall pick in the 2008 draft had 21 points and a season-high 13 assists, while Ben Gordon scored 24 points.
“I wasn’t even thinking of the NBA back then,” Rose said. “I had no idea what was going on in this franchise, but I’m beginning to learn a lot now.”
In 2001, Ben Gordon was still a student at Connecticut, but he somewhat knew that the Bulls had a 13-game losing streak in New Jersey.
“I didn’t know the number of games and the years, but I knew it had been a long time,” Gordon said. “It was crazy, man, crazy, that it had been that long. We’ve been struggling on the road all season, and we really needed to get a win.”
The Nets continued their poor play at home, falling to 5-12, the second-worst mark in the Eastern Conference. The Nets (15-16) are 10-4 on the road.
“I try not to worry about it,” Vince Carter said. “I tried to set the tone by coming out strong. I felt like I had to provide a spark.”
Andres Nocioni and Larry Hughes each added 17 points for the Bulls (14- 17), who won for only the fourth time in 18 road games this season. It was Chicago’s first win in New Jersey since 2001, snapping a 13-game losing streak.
Carter scored 31 points and Devin Harris added 26, 18 in the second half.
Josh Boone’s slam dunk tied the game for the final time at 86 before Chicago pulled away in the final four minutes. Gordon made a long 3-pointer, then converted a four-point play to push the lead to 97-86 with 1:46 left.
“We were able to weather their run in the third quarter and managed to put the game out of reach late,” Gordon said.
The Nets went scoreless for a span of 4:20 before Carter made a meaningless free throw with just 15 seconds left.
“We just ran out of baskets offensively and couldn’t buy one,” Nets coach Lawrence Frank said. “Give Chicago credit. They turned up the defense. We missed some open looks, and our mistakes just sort of multiplied.”
Chicago led by 13 in the first quarter and was ahead 43-29 with 7:20 remaining in the first half before the Nets crawled back into the game with an 8-0 run. The Bulls led 54-49 at the half.
Carter had 20 points at the half, with Gordon leading the Bulls with 15 and Hughes adding 13.
The Nets scored the first 11 points of the second half to regain the lead, with Harris scoring the first six points and rookie center Brook Lopez adding a three-point play and a layup, giving the Nets a 60-54 lead with 7:12 left in the third.
The Bulls regained the lead with a 9-0 lead late in the third, capped by four straight points from Nocioni, giving Chicago a 67-64 lead with 2:06 left in the period. AP
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