Nocioni leads Bulls over Nets

"Noc’ brings a lot to our group in general," Chicago coach Scott Skiles said. "His style sometimes can be a detriment to the way he plays. Sometimes he gets so uptight, nervous and anxious, but tonight he was much more relaxed. I could tell on his first couple shots that he was much more relaxed in the way he caught the ball and shot."

Luol Deng and Kirk Hinrich scored 22 points apiece for the Bulls, who have won two of three. Tyson Chandler added 15 rebounds in the win.

Nenad Krstic posted a career-high 29 points and 13 rebounds for the Nets, who have lost two straight. Vince Carter netted 25 points, while Richard Jefferson posted 16 points and 10 boards. Jason Kid added 13 assists and 10 rebounds in the losing effort.

Krstic’s dunk with 9:25 left in the fourth quarter tied the game at 71, but New Jersey failed to take the lead as Chicago outscored the Nets 24-16 thereafter.

"We were playing well but in the fourth quarter we just couldn’t make a shot," Kidd said. "They separated from us and we just couldn’t catch up. Krstic had a great game. He played with a lot of aggressiveness. He posted up and took advantage of them. He played a wonderful game and it’s too bad we wasted it."

The Bulls closed the first quarter on a 22-6 run, capped by a Krstic jumper at the buzzer, to take a 24-12 lead into the second.

New Jersey opened the second stanza on a 15-3 spurt capped by a Jefferson jumper with 6:55 left to tie the game at 27. Nocioni’s jumper at the buzzer closed Chicago’s halftime deficit to 44-42.

Chicago outscored New Jersey by four points in the third quarter, and led 68-66 heading into the fourth.

New Jersey began a three-game road trip. The Nets, who will also visit the Hornets and Rockets on the current swing, are 13-19 as the visitor this season. They have lost three in a row on the road.

The Bulls are 14-16 at home this season.

Game Notes

This was the second meeting of the season between the clubs. On November 5th, Jefferson’s layup and free throw with 1.5 seconds left gave the Nets a 100-99 come-from-behind win over the Bulls at Continental Airlines Arena...The home team has won four straight and 11 of the last 14 meetings in this series...Chicago snapped an eight-game losing streak to New Jersey...The last time the Bulls defeated the Nets was on April 11, 2003 at Chicago.