Chicago, IL (SportsNetwork.com) - Derrick Rose scored 23 points and the Chicago Bulls stifled the Brooklyn Nets in the second half en route to a 105-80 victory at the United Center.
After holding the Nets to 31.8 percent shooting in the third quarter to take a 77-68 lead into the fourth, Chicago's defense yielded a mere 12 points in the final period to send Brooklyn to a third straight lopsided defeat.
The Nets, who lost soundly at home to both Atlanta and Cleveland over the past week, were a dreadful 4-of-20 from the field in the fourth quarter.
Taj Gibson led the Bulls' stout defensive effort with six blocks in addition to recording 11 points and 10 rebounds. Pau Gasol swatted away four shots to go along with 16 points and 16 boards, with Jimmy Butler chipping in 18 points in the win.
"Taj was very active, obviously, and so was Pau. And I thought we were better with our ball pressure, too," Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau said. "You never get there (defensively), you have to constantly work at it. But I liked the way we practiced this week."
Deron Williams paced the Nets, who shot just 33 percent overall, with 17 points.
The Bulls trailed by one early in the third quarter before turning the momentum with a 14-1 run that began with five straight points from Mike Dunleavy. Rose buried a key triple later in the pivotal surge, which ended on Gasol's second-chance layup that gave Chicago a 68-56 lead.
"They gave me a lot of open shots tonight, but being in the condition to take those shots -- that's a huge key to the way that I'm playing," said Rose. "I think I'm finally getting in great condition."
Brooklyn then went completely cold over the final seven minutes as the Bulls turned the game into a rout.
The Nets went four minutes without a field goal until Cory Jefferson's basket with 3:02 left. In between, Chicago ripped off 15 straight points -- seven coming from Rose -- to open up a 101-73 advantage.
"They turned up their defense and they put on a block party," said Nets head coach Lionel Hollins. "We couldn't finish around the basket. I'm proud of our guys and how we played -- we competed and we fought and we were short-handed. Everybody played as well as they could do."
Chicago had its own offensive problems early on, going 0-for-4 with two turnovers as Brooklyn raced out to a quick 10-1 lead that became a 12-point differential shortly afterward, when an Alan Anderson 3-pointer had the Nets up 20-8 just past the midway stage of the first quarter.
The Bulls were able to close the gap early in the second, with back-to-back treys by Dunleavy highlighting an 8-0 spurt that trimmed the margin to 32-30. Chicago owned a 49-43 edge late in the first half, but Brooklyn closed out the period on an 8-2 flurry to knot the score at 51-51 at the break.
