Bench carries Nets past Bulls, 93-89

Brooks has struggled to find consistent minutes this season. It didn't seem they would come Friday, with interim coach P.J. Carlesimo saying before the game that the Bulls were a bad matchup for the second-year guard.

"It felt great, it did," Brooks said. "I just try to stay ready and just be aggressive. I was out there in the fourth quarter, trying to make plays, man."

Even with Chicago's injuries, Carlesimo said going from the Heat on Wednesday to the Bulls on Friday was like "going for a root canal a couple of times in a week" because of how tough both teams make it to run an offense.

Notoriously cautious Chicago coach Tom Thibodeau termed Noah's ailment a "lower-body injury." Pressed further, Thibodeau simply said Noah was "nicked up."

The Bulls almost got by without the All-Star while playing with just eight players but had their two-game winning streak snapped.

The Nets jumped out to a 12-point lead in the first quarter, but Chicago battled back to take a 42-39 lead on Deng's 3-pointer with 51 seconds left in the first half, and the Bulls led by one at the break.

Williams had 11 points for the Nets. He limped off with an apparent ankle injury late in the half, but was back to start the third quarter. Gerald Wallace finished with 13 rebounds, including a tip-in with 32 seconds left that represented the other fourth-quarter basket by a starter.

Notes: The Nets honored the 1 millionth guest to attend Barclays Center during a first-half timeout. Joined on the court by Nets owner Mikhail Prokhorov and Barclays Center majority owner and developer Bruce Ratner, Allison Barlow of Brooklyn was awarded two free tickets for all Barclays events for a year. The $1 billion arena has been open 126 days, and Friday's game was its 86th ticketed event. They also celebrated the birthday of Mr. Whammy, the elderly fan who sits in the front row behind the basket and heckles opposing free throw shooters. He couldn't do much to faze the Bulls, who went 20 of 22 (91 percent) at the line.