NBA

Nets let one slip away in loss to Bulls

With Thursday night’s game against the Bulls on the line, the Nets went to Brook Lopez three straight times.

And, three straight times, Lopez came up empty.

The result was an extremely disappointing 92-90 loss to an undermanned Chicago team in front of a sellout crowd of 17,732 at Barclays Center.

“It’s tough, just because our team was playing so well through the majority of the game and I contributed a lot to how the final score ended up,” said Lopez, “and that’s definitely not something I’m happy with or proud of.”

In a season full of milestones and highlights for Lopez, including making his first All-Star Game, the final minute of Thursday night’s game — one that began with Lopez scoring 18 points in the first quarter — will be something he will do his best to forget.

It began with the Nets getting the ball with 44.7 seconds left with a 90-89 lead after a Luol Deng jumper in the corner. The Nets chose to give the ball to Lopez in the post. But, after trying to back down Bulls center Nazr Mohammed, Lopez got caught in no-man’s land and tried to throw a pass to Keith Bogans that instead landed in the waiting hands of Bulls guard Nate Robinson.

“I was looking through my options to where to kick it out to,” Lopez said. “I felt I didn’t really have [Deron Williams] or Joe [Johnson], so I tried to get it over there to [Bogans] and [it was] just a terrible play on my part.”

After Robinson dribbled down and nailed a floater over Lopez to give Chicago a 91-90 lead with 22.7 seconds left, Lopez got a chance to atone for his previous mistakes. Williams, who was spectacular all night, finishing with 30 points and 10 assists, dribbled into the lane and found Lopez all alone under the hoop.

But Lopez was unable to convert the layup, as he took a lot of contact from Mohammed on the play, with no foul being called.

“D-Will hit me with a good pass, and I didn’t finish strong,” Lopez said.

Daequan Cook hit one of two free throws to put the Bulls up 92-90 with 5.5 seconds left, but Lopez got one final chance at redemption when, after Williams drove into the lane and drew Mohammed to him, he passed to Lopez for a wide open 17-footer in the corner.

But the shot — one Lopez has made time and time again this season — went around the rim and came out. The Nets were stunned and the Bulls, playing without five players, including All-Star center Joakim Noah and guard Derrick Rose (who has missed the whole season after knee surgery), celebrated after coming all the way back from a 16-point first-half deficit.

“It was a good shot,” Williams said of the final play. “We will take that shot 10 out of 10 times. That’s his spot on the floor.

“He had a good look, and it just went in and out.”

With the loss, the Nets now lead Chicago by one game in the loss column for fourth place in the Eastern Conference and both Chicago and Atlanta by a game-and-a-half in the standings.

The Bulls outrebounded the Nets 46-30, forced eight fourth-quarter turnovers and were led by Carlos Boozer’s 29 points and 18 rebounds. They won three of the four meetings between the two teams and clinched the tie-breaker over the Nets.

“It’s tough,” said Joe Johnson, who finished with 12 points in his first game back after sitting out the previous five with a sore left heel and a right quad contusion. “This was a game we desperately needed considering where we are in the standings at this point.”

It was a game the Nets looked as if they would win handily early on. They jumped out to a 26-13 lead after the first quarter behind 18 points on 8-for-9 shooting from Lopez.

But the Bulls slowly but surely fought their way back into the game thanks to a dominant effort on the glass.

Still, they had their chances in the final minute, only to see Lopez fail to take advantage of them.

“He’ll be fine,” Williams said. “Every player goes through that, and this time probably won’t be the last.”

tbontemps@nypost.com