Instead of pulling off their second winning streak of 2026, the Chicago Bulls let the Brooklyn Nets beat them for the second time this season.

The 112-109 score doesn’t reflect how far apart this game truly was for most of the night. Yes, the Bulls did what they do best and forced some late-game drama, but the Nets deserved to walk away with only their 12th win of the season.

3 TakeawaysInconsistency at its Finest

One game after their highest-scoring effort of 2026, the Chicago Bulls came out cold in Brooklyn. They only mustered 23 first-quarter points against the slower-paced Nets. To be sure, they shot an efficient 9-16 from the field compared to the Nets’ 10-25 showing, but they still faced a 4-point deficit due to the extra possessions. They turned the ball over five times in the first 12 minutes and lacked any real sense of urgency.

Matas Buzelis was an unfortunate part of the problem. Benched in the fourth quarter against Utah, he came out shaky. He started the night 1-5 from the field. Nikola Vucevic seemed to be the only player in a rhythm after his career-high night on Wednesday. The Bulls arguably should have played more through the big man, but chose to keep settling for long-range buckets.

The second quarter was about as bad as it gets. They proceeded to shoot 6-24 from the field, which included a 1-11 showing from behind the arc. At one point, the Bulls went a full 4 minutes and 23 seconds without a bucket. As for the Nets, they took the floor with a far more efficient mindset, attacking Chicago’s weak interior defense for an 8-10 showing in the paint. They used this to balloon their lead to 57-40 heading into the locker room.

The 40-point first half marked Chicago’s second-lowest scoring half of the season.

Another Clutch Game … Duh

In typical “cardiac Bulls” fashion, they managed to erase what became a 20-point deficit with a fantastic late-game surge.

Cam Thomas gave the Nets a 92-72 lead 40 seconds into the fourth quarter with a triple. Then, the Bulls finally woke up. Tre Jones made back-to-back buckets to jumpstart a 15-3 run to cut Brooklyn’s lead to single-digits. While Michael Porter Jr. would quickly respond with a three of his own to put the Nets back up 11 points, everyone inside Barclays Center knew this was an entirely new ballgame.

Jalen Smith would come through big again with another make behind the arc before it was Dosunmu’s turn for his back-to-back downhill buckets. The 7-0 run in less than a minute now had the score sitting at 98-94 with 4:59 left to go. And you know what that means: Another clutch game for the Bulls!

Chicago sat tied for fourth with 24 clutch games coming into the night. They had gone 14-10 in those contests, proving to be one of the NBA’s better crunch-time teams this season. Conversely, Brooklyn came in with only 16 clutch games under their belt and an ugly 3-13 record. In other words, the odds certainly felt like they shifted in the Bulls’ favor.

This became particularly true as the Nets coughed the ball up on back-to-back-to-back possessions. The Bulls turned the first mistake into Smith’s fourth triple of the quarter. Then, Isaac Okoro took the second straight steal to the rim for the breakaway slam. Nikola Vucevic proceeded to swipe down at Drake Powell and force the ball loose on the next possession, leading to a Tre Jones fastbreak finish for the 109-108 lead. It was Chicago’s first lead since it was 5-3 in the first quarter.

But that was the problem! As impressive as the comeback was, you can’t expect to go essentially the entire game without a lead – let alone start the fourth quarter down 17 points – and expect to win. The Nets were sure to remind them of that.

Michael Porter Jr. continued his All-Star-caliber season by nailing the go-ahead layup off the inbound with 5.4 seconds left to put his team back on top. Billy Donovan quickly called a timeout to set up the potential game-winning bucket. However, presumably exhausted from the effort that went into clawing their way back, the Bulls couldn’t successfully put the ball in play. Donovan first had to call a timeout to avoid a five-second call. Then, Tre Jones threw the ball right into Powell’s hands for the turnover.

All the Bulls could do was send the Nets to the free throw line, where they iced the game. You play with fire, you’re going to get burned.

Deja Vu Behind the Arc

Our first key to the game was simple: Run the Brooklyn Nets off the perimeter. What did the Bulls do? Not that.

The Nets often live and die by the three. They came into the evening shooting the sixth-most threes a night despite shooting the sixth-lowest percentage. If they get hot and create open looks, they can find a way to pull off the win, and the Bulls were painfully aware of that. They lost in December to Brooklyn because of a 36-point discrepancy from downtown. The Nets shot 19-46 in that performance for the 113-103 victory. The hot shooting made up for their 21 turnovers and for allowing 60 points in the paint.

Tonight ended up being the exact same story – right down to the 19 made threes! The Bulls may have done a slightly better job behind the arc with11 of their own makes, but they were still outscored by 24 points. Brooklyn even had more turnovers again, and the Bulls shot better from the field this time around! None of that matters if you can’t solve the math problem.

Five Chicago Bulls Player Grades

Nikola Vucevic – A-
Stats: 19 PTS, 6 REB, 5 AST, 2 BLK

Nikola Vucevic followed up his season-high showing against the Utah Jazz with a good effort against Nic Claxton. He forced a key turnover down the stretch and also made a deep 2-pointer to cut the lead to 102-100 with under 3 minutes to go.

Jalen Smith – B+
Stats: 14 PTS, 13 REB, 4 AST, 4 BLK

Jalen Smith was a non-factor offensively … until he wasn’t. He scored 12 of his 14 points during the Bulls’ huge comeback in the fourth quarter. He also continued to make his presence felt at the four with some strong rebounding and defensive stands. I’m really starting to think that a contender could pick up the phone and ask about the versatile big man this deadline. He’s been great.

Matas Buzelis – B
Stats: 15 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST, 4 BLK

This wasn’t a pretty game to start for Matas Buzelis. He followed up his fourth-quarter benching on Wednesday night with some forced shot attempts and even a missed dunk. However, I’m bumping up his grade for keeping his head on straight and making some key plays down the stretch. He may not have directly put up points in the fourth quarter, but he dished a pair of assists and came up with some huge stops defensively.

Coby White – C+
Stats: 17 PTS, 4 AST, 4 REB, 2 STL

I’m choosing to grade Coby White on a slight curve, considering his recent struggles. The guard has really looked out of sync over the last handful of games, as the lack of consistent playing time has seemingly messed with his rhythm. However, playing his two straight games for the first time in 2026, White looked a little more like his well-rounded scoring self.

Tre Jones – C-
Stats: 11 PTS, 5 AST, 5 REB, 2 STL

I hate to hold one play against someone, but that inbound turnover was absolutely brutal. Tre Jones has to get that in cleanly.