On the day that former Net Jason Collins came out on the cover of Sports Illustrated, the Brooklyn Nets held on for a 110-91 victory over the Chicago Bulls in Game 5 of this best-of-seven playoff match-up. The Bulls still lead the series 3-2 with Game 6 on Thursday in Chicago.
After looking for Chris Broussard to get a good quote about the rebellion against God, I began writing my recap of Brooklyn's performance in this do-or-die game by throwing out standard sports cliches:
The Nets came out with purpose, playing with a mean streak.
Brook Lopez was being especially aggressive.
Deron Williams looked like he was going to will his team to victory.
But this one was particularly unavoidable: The Chicago Bulls aren't winning, the Nets have been beating themselves.
On this night, the better team finally won.
Taking nothing away from Chicago and their three-game winning streak in games two through four, the Nets found themselves down 3-1 not because of superior play by an almost equally ineffective Bulls team, but by their own horribly inept shooting and one quarter of Nate Robinson. Brooklyn has led by double digits in four of the five games, and have been in a position to tie or win in the closing minutes of each of their three series losses.
Brooklyn did indeed come out with a purpose in Game 5 and, fortunately, were finally hitting jumpers, as the team rode their all-star center and franchise point guard to a 52-44 halftime lead. Even the much-(recently)-maligned Gerald Wallace got in on the action with 12 points, hitting 50% of the three pointers he took. But if the Nets expect to win this series—let alone do any damage beyond Round One—it will be carried by Williams, Lopez and team rebounding. On this night, they all responded.
"I don't have much of a social life, so I didn't want to go home," Brook Lopez joked after the game. When asked if he now considers himself a star, Lopez—who has scored at least 20 points in each of his first five playoff games as a professional—responded, "I just want to be a good teammate."
Both Lopez and Williams each finished with a double-double; the big man grabbing 10 rebounds to go with 28 points, while Williams dished out 10 assists to compliment his 23, and the Nets out-rebounded Chicago by a 44 to 33 margin. More importantly, they didn't let a late lead slip away. The Bulls were able to keep the game close, getting within one midway through the fourth quarter, but the Nets never relinquished the lead in the second half, and eventually pulled away in the game's final minutes.
“We know how good they are,” coach Tom Thibodeau said. “All these games have been tough, hard-fought games. They usually come down to one or two possessions near the end, and you’ve got to make plays.”
Of course it helped that the Nets hit 50% of their shots and Nate Robinson—who was loudly booed every time he touched the ball—returned to Earth, hitting only 9 of his 19 attempts, and only one three-pointer.
Now the series returns to Chicago, and while the Nets' backs are still against the wall, they have a bit of momentum. They can't go back in time, but someone had to be up 3-2 after Game 5. It's time they put the past behind them and start realizing they are the better team in this series. If not, they won't be coming home for a Game 7.
