Sasha Vujacic lifts New Jersey to last gasp win over the Chicago Bulls
The teams were locked in a 94-point stalemate with just five seconds to go. Then the sizzling Sasha Vujacic came up with the tiebreaking basket, as the New Jersey Nets snapped their five-game losing streak with a 96-94 victory over the Chicago Bulls, at
the Prudential Centre in Newark.
Nets Coach Avery Johnson said after the game, "That's how Devin (Harris) drew it up. (Sasha) was in the right place at the right time. We were looking for Brook (Lopez). If he was not there, we wanted to get the ball to Sasha. Devin thought he saw something
and boy, we got a good bounce. As hard as we've been working recently, we needed something fortunate to happen."
High-Flying Players
Kris Humphries responded to a demotion with a season-high 20 points and 11 rebounds, while Harris finished with 18 points and 11 assists for the Nets. Lopez scored 14 points.
Nets guard Devin Harris came off the bench to score 18 points and 11 assists. That is another night, another great performance from Harris. Brook Lopez finished with 14 points, two assists and three rebounds. Lopez made some nice hustle plays to keep his
side in the game.
Derrick Rose had a game-high 23 points and 15 rebounds to lead the Bulls, who lost their 11th game of the season. Luol Deng finished with 17 points, two assists and eight rebounds. Carlos Boozer finished with just 12 points in 26 minutes. Boozer did not
get back into the game in the fourth quarter, as coach Tom Thibodeau went with a small line up.
Game Story
The Bulls played flat and with very little fire on the defensive end for three quarters. By the time they turned it up and started getting stops, it was too late. The New Jersey Nets defence held the lead.
New Jersey started the game in a fantastic manner, running to a 12-5 lead early in the opening quarter. However, Rose got Chicago back into the contest with a pair of lay-ups. Taj Gibson also made a long jumper to tie the game at 18 with three minutes to
go in the first quarter. The Nets once again found a way to take a 25-24 lead heading into the second quarter.
In the second quarter, Vujacic netted a three-pointer, to put the Nets up 34-29 with just eight minutes to go in the first half. However, the Bulls fought back to tie it at 34 with a three-point play from Boozer. New Jersey played sloppy basketball, but
slowly began to build their lead, going into half time at 47-46.
The Nets got it going offensively, and used that to take a 78-65 advantage heading into the final quarter. They scored 32 points in the third quarter, while holding the Bulls to just 18 in the entire quarter.
A floating jumper from Harris gave the Nets a nine-point advantage at 93-84, with three minutes left. However, the Bulls scored the next eight points to make it a one-point game.
With just 49 seconds to go in the final buzzer, C.J. Watson’s two free throws for Chicago tied the game at 94. Vujacic though, was at the right place at the right time, as he responded with a fantastic tie-breaking shot to put New Jersey up for good.
"It was a game we just had to win," Vujacic said. "We really, really needed the win. We made some mistakes. I forced a couple of shots but we stayed with it."
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