Nets Eliminated from Playoff Contention After Loss to Bulls

(CHICAGO) — Doug McDermott scored 25 points, Jimmy Butler added 22 as the Chicago Bulls held off the Brooklyn Nets 118-102 on Thursday night.

With the loss, the Nets (19-49) have officially been eliminated from postseason contention.  They had made the playoffs each of their first three seasons in Brooklyn after moving to the Borough from New Jersey back in 2012.

Bojan Bogdanovic led the Nets in the loss with a game-high 26 points.  Thaddeus Young chipped in his 28th double-double of the season with 16 points and 16 rebounds.  Brook Lopez had a quiet night for the Nets, finishing with just nine points and three rebounds in 31 minutes.

The Bulls led by as many as 24 points in the second quarter and led 55-37 at halftime, but the Nets did not give up.  They outscored Chicago 37-24 in the third quarter and got to within four points early in the fourth, but poor execution and timely shot making from the Bulls helped put the game away.

The Nets travel to Detroit next to take on the Pistons on Saturday.

Notes: Bulls All-Star forward/center Pau Gasol missed his third game with right knee inflammation, but the team did just fine without him in the lineup.

Interim head coach Tony Brown inserted Sergey Karasev into the starting lineup for the first time this season.  He played fairly well for Brooklyn, finishing with 11 points, five assists and five rebounds.

The Nets officially signed center Henry Sims to a 10-day contract on Thursday.  With the Nets trying to evaluate the young talent on their roster, Sims is highly likely to see game action in the near future.

Sean Kilpatrick has been a revelation for the Nets since they signed him to the first of two 10-day contracts last month, and now it looks like he will call Brooklyn home for the foreseeable future.  Although the team has yet to formally announce it, Kilpatrick’s agent, Zach Kurtin confirmed to ESPN.com that he signed a three-year deal with the Nets that is fully guaranteed for the rest of this season and next season.  For the 26-year-old New York native, it is a nice reward for all the hard work he has put in while playing in the D-League.  Kilpatrick scored 12 points off the bench in the loss to the Bulls, finishing in double figures for the fourth consecutive game.