NBA: Bulls miss chance to punch playoff ticket in loss to Nets

Chicago Bulls center Robin Lopez, left, guards his twin brother Brooklyn Nets center Brook Lopez (11) during the first half of an NBA basketball game, Saturday, April 8, 2017, in New York. AP

NEW YORK, United States — Jimmy Butler did all he could, but the Chicago Bulls’ defensive lapses proved too costly to overcome in a damaging 107-106 NBA loss to the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday.

Butler scored 33 points, but the Bulls’ bid to rally from a lackluster first half were doomed by their inability to put the brakes on the Nets in the final five minutes.

“Jimmy played amazing down the stretch,” said Chicago guard Dwyane Wade, who scored 14 points in his return after missing 11 games with a broken right elbow. “He hit a lot of big shots for us. We just needed some stops.”

After their slow start the Bulls finally seized the lead for the first time midway through the third quarter.

Nikola Mirotic’s three-point play on a fast break gave them a 97-88 lead with 4:24 to play.

But Chicago didn’t score again for more than two minutes, when Butler’s jump shot gave them a 99-98 lead.

In the meantime, Nets rookie Caris LeVert hit back-to-back three-pointers and Rondae Hollis-Jefferson made two layups.

The Bulls were unable to respond. Butler’s two free throws gave Chicago a 101-98 lead with 1:36 to play, but it would be their last lead of the game.

Brooklyn’s Spencer Dinwiddie drained a three-pointer with 83 seconds left to tie the game at 101-101.

After Butler tied it again at 103-103, Dinwiddie made four free throws to cap a 19-point performance and make Butler’s three-pointer with one second left too little, too late.

“We’ve got to figure out a way to pull these games out in the end, get stops and score some baskets in the end,” Butler said.

The Bulls’ defeat assured the Atlanta Hawks of a playoff berth, one day after the Hawks stunned the reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers.

It also left the Bulls one game behind the seventh-placed Indiana Pacers in the Eastern Conference and locked in a battle for the eighth and final playoff spot with the Miami Heat, who edged the Washington Wizards 106-103 on Saturday.

The Heat and Bulls have matching 39-41 records with two games apiece left to play in the regular season, but Chicago own the tiebreaker between the two. CBB