Cam Thomas scored 32 points to continue his strong start as the Brooklyn Nets made enough plays down the stretch for a 120-112 victory over the visiting Chicago Bulls on Friday night in New York.
Thomas scored at least 30 for the third time in Brooklyn’s initial six games and delivered down the stretch as the Nets outscored the Bulls 16-8 in the final six-plus minutes
The Bulls forged a 104-104 tie lead on a basket by Patrick Williams with 6:18 left shortly after Thomas returned from a rest. The game was tied again at 106, and the Nets never trailed again after Johnson hit two free throws with 4:46 remaining. Thomas took over from there
After hitting two free throws and a layup, Thomas sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key with 2:33 left. Following a missed basket by the Bulls’ Zach LaVine, Thomas drilled a 33-foot bomb from the top of the key over Williams for a 118-109 lead.
Thomas shot 11 of 23 from the floor and also hit four of Brooklyn’s 11 treys as the Nets won for the third time in four games. Johnson added 14, while Nic Claxton and Keon Johnson each added 12 off the bench.
Ben Simmons avoided foul trouble and finished with 11 of Brooklyn’s 34 assists. The Nets shot 52.1 percent and led by 17 in the first half before surviving a shaky stretch in the third quarter and the opening minutes of the fourth.
Nikola Vucevic collected 28 and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who were unable to win their third straight game. LaVine and Coby White added 21 apiece as Chicago shot 43.2 percent and hit 17 treys but were 6-of-23 from the floor in the fourth, including 2-of-11 from distance in the final quarter.
Behind 13 points from Thomas, the Nets shot 59.3 percent and held a 37-30 through the opening quarter. Thomas returned with 6:57 left in the second after Keon Johnson scored seven straight points to expand the Nets’ lead to 50-35 lead. They were ahead 68-60 at halftime.
Three straight putbacks by Vucevic moved the Bulls within 77-73 at the 7:25 mark of the third, and he converted a three-point play to forge a 78-78 tie with 5:59 left. Vucevic also sank a 3-pointer from the top of the key to forge a tie at 85 with 3:27 left, and Dennis Schroder’s 13-footer with 2.8 seconds left pushed Brooklyn ahead 92-90 going into the fourth.
