NBA

Bulls beat up struggling Nets

NOAH WAY, MAN! Joakim Noah (right), who finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, four blocked shots and two steals, blocks Gerald Wallace’s shot during the third quarter of the Nets’ 96-85 loss to the Bulls last night. (
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CHICAGO — The Nets have often cited a lack of energy as a problem after their losses this season.

Last night, the Bulls showed them how far energy can carry a team.

Led by Chicago’s human ball of energy, Joakim Noah, the Bulls beat the Nets, 96-85, in front of a sellout crowd of 22,414 inside United Center in a game that was much more lopsided than the final score indicated.

The Nets have now lost four of their last five games, and have dropped into sixth place in the Eastern Conference standings.

“We are not playing well,” Nets interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “We need to play a lot better.”

Besides obviously getting better play, what the Nets (34-26) could use is a dose of the energy and enthusiasm Noah brings to the floor on a nightly basis. After superstar point guard Derrick Rose tore his left ACL during Chicago’s first-round playoff loss last year and the Bulls (34-25) renovated — and in several ways downgraded — their terrific bench from last season during the summer, some wondered if the Bulls would be able to remain in the Eastern Conference this season while Rose continues to rehab from his surgery.

Instead, coach Tom Thibodeau and his two healthy All-Stars, Noah and Luol Deng, have made sure these Bulls, even in Rose’s absence, have consistently brought the kind of defensive effort and energy that has allowed them to hang around in the middle of the Eastern Conference playoff race while hoping Rose will return soon.

When Joe Johnson was asked after the game if that same role fell to him and Deron Williams with the Nets, he said the inconsistency that has plagued the Nets in that department all season long was something they would have to fix as a group.

“It’s on us as a team,” he said. “You can’t put it on one or two guys. … If you put us out there by ourselves, do you think we’ll win? Can’t do that.”

But, in typical fashion, Noah was all over the place for the Bulls, finishing with 21 points, 10 rebounds, five assists, two steals and four blocked shots while shooting 10-for-13 from the field.

“[Noah] brings so much energy,” said Brook Lopez, who finished with a game-high 22 points, but only eight after the first quarter. “He scores the ball, rebounds, passes, blocks shots … he does everything.

“You just have to come in and match his energy.”

And while the Nets managed to hang with the Bulls for most of the first half, when they faltered in the final minutes of the second quarter, Chicago pounced. After Johnson scored with 4:37 remaining in the first half to give the Nets a 39-38 lead, the Bulls ended the half on a 15-0 run to go into the break up 53-39, and never led by less than double-digits again.

Once again, the Nets were careless with the ball, committing 21 turnovers that led to 24 Bulls points a night after committing 20 turnovers in a loss to the Mavericks.

“That’s a team that locks up,” said Deron Williams, who had 14 points and six assists but shot just 4-for-12. “We jumped out on them early like we have against a lot of good teams. Then they made a run, and we regressed.”

After the game, Carlesimo said that with three days before the Nets next take the floor in Charlotte, he’ll be looking at “a lot of things,” including possible changes to — and specifically tightening — his rotation.

In the meantime, the Nets will have three days to figure out what has led to their recent poor play and quick tumble down the Eastern Conference standings, while knowing their month away from home — only three of their final 13 games in March are in Brooklyn – is only just beginning.

“It’s definitely concerning,” Williams said. “Anytime you lose four in five, it’s definitely not good. You’re trying to make a playoff push, and this was a team that was a half-game behind us, and knowing the stretch we’ve got coming up on the road, all of these games count.

“All of these games are big. These are all games you’re going to look back on and wish you could’ve played better.”