NEW YORK – Zach LaVine produced a fourth-quarter scoring blitz as the Chicago Bulls piled on the misery for the crisis-hit Brooklyn Nets with a 108-99 National Basketball Association victory on Tuesday.
A tumultuous day that began with Brooklyn’s sacking of head coach Steve Nash ended with the Nets blowing a 12-point, third-quarter lead as the Bulls surged to victory at the Barclays Centre.
Interim coach Jacque Vaughn was on the sidelines for Brooklyn but could only watch in dismay as they wilted in the fourth quarter.
Chicago outscored the Nets 31-19 in the last period, with LaVine raining down 20 points in the final frame to finish with 29 points, including five assists and four rebounds. DeMar DeRozan provided offensive support with 20 points while Goran Dragic added 15 and Patrick Williams, 12.
The Nets saw Kevin Durant tally 32 points, with nine rebounds and six assists, while Royce O’Neale chipped in with 20 points.
Kyrie Irving had a frustrating night, finishing with just four points.
Durant admitted afterwards that Nash’s abrupt dismissal had been on his mind in the hours before the game, revealing that he had first learnt of it on television.
“I woke up from my nap and turned to my right and saw it on ESPN,” he said. “I was shocked. You’re always shocked when a move like this happens, but it’s normal in the NBA.
“So you just get ready for the game. It’s a quick turnaround in the league, so you can’t think too much about it – but it was on my mind for a little bit today.”
Durant – who requested a trade from Brooklyn in the off-season before later issuing an ultimatum to replace Nash or let him go – insisted he had a good relationship with the dismissed coach.
“I liked working with Steve, I liked the coaching staff,” he said.
“It was a roller coaster last few years but the core of it – the basketball – is something we all loved to do. I enjoyed coming to work with Steve.
“We didn’t have a healthy team and we didn’t play well. But it doesn’t take away from Steve’s basketball IQ or how he teaches the game. It just didn’t work out.”
Brooklyn fell to 2-6 with the defeat and are languishing near the foot of the Eastern Conference while Chicago improved to 4-4, snapping a two-game losing streak.
Nash, who was twice named the NBA MVP during his playing career, was hired in 2020 despite a lack of coaching experience and took the team to the play-offs in back-to-back seasons.
“Personally, this was an immensely difficult decision,” general manager Sean Marks said.
“After much deliberation and evaluation of how the season has begun, we agreed that a change is necessary.” AFP, REUTERS
