Embattled Nets continue slump, lose to Bulls after Nash sacking
NEW YORK – Zach Lavine produced a fourth-quarter scoring blitz as the Chicago Bulls piled on the misery for the crisis-hit Brooklyn Nets with a 108-99 win on Tuesday (Wednesday, Manila time).
A tumultuous day that began with Brooklyn's sacking of head coach Steve Nash ended with the Nets blowing a 12-point third-quarter lead as Chicago surged to victory at the Barclays Center.
Interim coach Jacque Vaughn took over on the sidelines for the Nets, but could only watch in dismay as Brooklyn wilted in the fourth quarter once again.
Chicago outscored the Nets 31-19 in the fourth quarter, with Lavine raining down 20 points in the final frame to finish with 29 points, including five assists and four rebounds.
DeMar DeRozan provided offensive support with 20 points while Goran Dragic added 15 and Patrick Williams 12. Ayo Dosunmu added 17 points from the bench.
The Nets, meanwhile, saw Kevin Durant tally 32 points with nine rebounds and six assists while Royce O’Neale chipped in with 20 points. Yuka Watanabe and Nic Claxton both added 10 points apiece.
Kyrie Irving meanwhile had a frustrating night for Brooklyn, finishing with four points after shooting just 2-of-12 from the field.
Brooklyn fell to 2-6 with the defeat and are languishing near the foot of the Eastern Conference while Chicago improved to 4-4, snapping a two-game losing streak.
In other games on Tuesday, the Golden State Warriors slumped to a third straight loss with a 116-109 defeat to the Miami Heat in Florida.
A back-and-forth game saw nine lead changes before Miami finally pulled clear in the closing stages of the fourth quarter to claim a win that leaves the NBA champion Warriors at 3-5 for the season.
Max Strus led the Miami scoring with 24 points while Jimmy Butler added 23 with six rebounds and eight assists.
Stephen Curry had a triple double for the Warriors, with 23 points, 13 rebounds and 13 assists but it was not enough to drag Golden State over the line.
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