10 observations: Bulls blow 21-point lead, fall to Nets in 4th straight loss

NEW YORK - The Chicago Bulls lost their fourth straight and seventh in eight games when the Brooklyn Nets stormed back to prevail TK-TK Sunday night at Barclays Center.

Here are 10 observations from the loss:

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-The Bulls won the first quarter for just the fifth time in 18 games. They also overcame their recent habit of falling behind by double digits in the first quarter. In fact, they opened with a 7-0 run to force a timeout from Nets coach Jacque Vaughn. They extended the run to 13-0, 22-3 and 30-9 as their largest lead of the first. That included 8-of-10 start from 3-point range.

-Here was Donovan pregame about the slow starts.

“We’re coming into games sometimes seeing how the game is going. And I don’t think that’s a good thing,” he said. “We have to come out with more force than we have.

“Vooch (Nikola Vucevic) and DeMar (DeRozan) aren’t going to be these speed merchants up and down the floor. But there can be more force to us. It’s not so much that we have to play this racehorse basketball. But there has to be more force and physicality at the basket. There has to be more physicality at the point of screen. There has to be more physicality running offense instead of, ‘OK.’ We have to go with force. When we get down, that’s when we come back and play with a level of force.”

-Alex Caruso missed his third game of the season with the strained left toe he re-aggravated on Friday night in Toronto when Coby White inadvertently stepped on Caruso’s foot. Caruso warmed up trying to play but Patrick Williams drew the start in Caruso’s absence.

-Williams helped the Bulls’ impressive start by scoring 11 points in the first quarter without missing a shot. That included three 3-pointers. Williams stepped into each shot with confidence and without hesitation. In general, the Bulls did a good job of getting the ball inside either by pass or penetration and then kicking out to open shooters.

-But the Bulls’ poor quarter came later this time. The Nets opened the second quarter on an 11-1 that featured Donovan burning two timeouts in 10 seconds. After the second, Donovan chastised Ayo Dosunmu, who had committed a turnover, as the guard walked to the bench.

-The Nets erased all of their 21-point, first-quarter deficit by opening the second quarter with a 27-5 spurt. And they were finishing a back-to-back set of games, although they also played at home in a Saturday night victory over the Miami Heat. Still, the Bulls fell into poor habits by not getting back in transition and not rotating to open 3-point shooters. Overall, the Nets outscored the Bulls 44-19 in the second. It marked only the second time since 1996-97 that an NBA team led by 20 or more in the first quarter and trailed by 10 or more by the second quarter.

-With a second-quarter 3-pointer, Coby White became the first player in franchise history to make four or more 3-pointers in five straight games. White has been on fire from beyond the arc of late, raising his season average to 37 percent entering the game after languishing at 25 percent early in the season. White had sank 19-of-37 3-pointers over his last four games and finished TK-for-TK on Sunday.

-The Nets surpassed the Bulls’ opponent-season-high for 3-pointers with their 21st-at the 2 minute, 56 second mark of the third. The Nets entered seventh in the league in 3-point attempts and fourth in made 3-pointers. It’s a big part of their offensive identity. The jarring aspect was how open many of the Nets’ attempts were following Bulls’ defensive breakdowns. Zach LaVine left Mikal Bridges wide open when he rotated to provide help that Torrey Craig didn’t need. Nikola Vucevic left Spencer Dinwiddie wide open. LaVine and Dosunmu failed to communicate and rotate properly.

-In fact, the Nets sank the most 3-pointers allowed by the Bulls in franchise history. The Nets finished 25-for-53 from 3-point range. Royce O'Neal and Lonnie Walker IV each sank six.

-The Bulls shot 4-for-22 from 3-point range after their hot start from beyond the arc of 8-for-10. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 27 points. White finished with 23 points and five 3-pointers.

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