CHICAGO — Judging by the first few minutes of Game 2, Nets forward Gerald Wallace looked ready to provide the same kind of spark he did in Game 1.
But while flying around the court in the first half of the first quarter, Wallace picked up a quick pair of fouls and, with 4:46 remaining in the first, was sent to the bench for the rest of the half.
Wallace then was never able to get back on track after halftime, failing to score in 12 second-half minutes and finishing with two points and three rebounds in the Nets’ 90-82 loss to the Bulls.
“He was [doing well early],” interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said, “and not putting him back in … he didn’t get the minutes he’s been getting. That really hurt.
“In retrospect, the fact that we got out [down] one at the half, I felt good about it, but when I saw Gerald’s minutes at the end of the game, I didn’t feel good about it. We’ve been saying all along, Gerald’s got to play big minutes for us. So, whether it’s fouls or me not putting him back in or whatever, his minutes have got to be pretty high for us to be successful.”
* With Joe Johnson listed as a game-time decision for Game 3 with plantar fasciitis in his left foot, that could alter the way Carlesimo handles his rotation. He has gone with at least 10 players as part of his core rotation in each of the first two games, and even gave an 11th guy, MarShon Brooks, a look in the fourth quarter of Game 2 as he was searching for some offense.
“It’ll depend on who’s available and how they play,” Carlesimo said. “C.J. [Watson] has played extremely well, the bigs have done a good job.
“In some cases, we have to put some people out there and see how they play. Some of the matchups are difficult, so it’s going to be nine for sure, and it could be deeper, depending on who is available.”
Carlesimo said Brooks could be a potential rotation option in Game 3.
* After going 1-for-9 and finishing with eight points in Monday’s 90-82 loss, Deron Williams was peppered with questions about what the Bulls did to slow him and the rest of the Nets down and force them to shoot 35 percent overall and 19 percent from 3-point range.
He had a simple answer.
“We missed shots,” Williams said. “We missed shots, and I let them dictate what I was doing a little bit and just got passive.
“But I’ll be fine. I had four open threes that I missed. If I make those, it’s 12 more points and we’re not even talking about it. We’ve got to make shots.”
* The NBA said this year’s NBA Draft will be held at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on June 27.
After the draft was held in New York for 10 straight years (2001-10), it moved out of Madison Square Garden each of the past two seasons while the building was being renovated, and was instead held at Prudential Center in Newark.