CHICAGO — The Nets aren’t ready to go home for the summer just yet.
After trailing 3-1 in their best-of-seven series against the Bulls, the Nets left United Center with a 95-92 victory over Chicago in front of a sellout crowd of 21,810, sending the series back to Barclays Center for Game 7 tomorrow night.
“That was the only thing on our minds today, having a Game 7 going back to Brooklyn,” said Andray Blatche, who scored the Nets’ final five points to seal the win. “We got the job done, and now we have to go home and finish it off.”
The Nets did get the job done, but it wasn’t easy. Despite playing without starters Kirk Hinrich (bruised left calf) and Luol Deng (illness) and with both Nate Robinson and Taj Gibson under the weather and Joakim Noah battling plantar fasciitis, the Bulls gave the Nets all they could handle.
But unlike the final moments of Game 4, when the Nets seemingly did everything they possibly could to give away a 14-point lead with three minutes to go in regulation and eventually lose in triple-overtime, they managed to do just enough to get themselves a win and ensure they would get at least one more game on their home floor this season.
“I’m not trying to sound conceited or arrogant, but deep down inside, I knew we were going back,” said Reggie Evans, who had two points and 15 rebounds in 29:21.
“We’re just not ready to go home [for the summer].”
The Nets, who were led by 17 points each from Deron Williams, Joe Johnson and Brook Lopez, entered last night’s game 0-for-4 in the Windy City this season — losing twice during the regular season, and twice more during the playoffs. Despite leading for much of the game, it took until the game’s final moments for the Nets to finally secure the win.
The depleted Bulls didn’t stop coming and, despite trailing ever since the final minutes of the first quarter, cut Brooklyn’s lead to 93-92 with 25.2 seconds remaining on a layup by Nazr Mohammed.
Then, after Blatche was fouled with 19.2 seconds left, he stepped to the line for the two biggest foul shots of the season. With the arena rocking, Blatche knocked down both of them and gave the Nets a 95-92 lead, one that proved to be the final margin.
“I’m not going to lie to you … it was loud,” Blatche said with a smile. “I just tried to block it out and stayed focused. We shoot a lot of free throws in practice, so I tried to just follow my same routine and just follow through.”
Still, there was plenty of time left for the Bulls to tie the game, and they had their chances. Marco Belinelli, Deng’s replacement in the starting lineup who wound up with a game-high 22 points, got free for a 3-pointer with 7.9 seconds left, but it went long. Then, after there was a jump ball with 3.6 seconds left, Joe Johnson corralled the tip and dribbled out the clock to allow the Nets to escape with a win.
“We have a lot of heart,” interim coach P.J. Carlesimo said. “We’ve had a lot of people step up, as [have] they.
“You really can’t say it when you’re down 3-1 or 3-2, but it’s been a pretty good series. When you get to a seventh game, it’s really special. And, fortunately for us, over the course of 82 games our guys earned that homecourt, which is a great thing.”