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 "Waiting for Jimmy?" the Chicago forward asked, referring to
All-Star locker mate Jimmy Butler.
Not this time. They were waiting for McDermott.
The second-year forward scored 25 points off the bench to lead the
Bulls to a 118-102 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
McDermott tied a career high with five 3-pointers and finished with
20 or more points for the third consecutive game, marking the
longest streak of his career.
Chicago (34-33) earned its second win in the past three games and
improved to 22-12 at home. Led by McDermott, the Bulls' bench
contributed 60 points.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg praised McDermott for leading the effort on
offense.
"His confidence is at a very high level right now," said Hoiberg,
who also praised reserve forwards Bobby Portis and Cristiano Felicio
for combining for 24 rebounds. "He's hunting shots. Guys are doing a
good job of finding him in transition."
 Jimmy Butler scored 22 points and dished seven assists for the
Bulls. Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson were among four players who added
12 points apiece as Chicago fought to stay in playoff contention.
Chicago shot 48.9 percent from the field. Brooklyn shot 46.5
percent.
"This one is big," said Butler, who finished 8 for 8 from the free
throw line. "Hopefully, it can get us rolling. We need as many wins
as we can get moving into the playoffs."
Bojan Bogdanovic scored a game-high 26 points to lead the Nets.
Thaddeus Young scored 16 points and grabbed 14 rebounds. Brooklyn
(19-49) lost for the fifth time in its past six games.
Brooklyn interim coach Tony Brown said a sloppy first half cost his
team. He praised his players for battling back to outscore Chicago
37-24 in the third quarter.
"I saw effort," Brown said. "I saw that we were competing. Our
intensity level picked up. It was totally different from the first
half. We didn't have a lot of life in the first half, and it
showed."
A 3-pointer by Chris McCullough pulled the Nets within 87-83 early
in the fourth quarter. The Bulls rallied with a 10-4 run to regain a
double-digit lead with 6:29 to go. Portis punctuated the run with a
two-handed slam dunk on a feed from Rose, who finished five assists.
McDermott and Rose added back-to-back 3-pointers as the Bulls
increased their lead in the final minutes.
"I feel real comfortable out there," said McDermott, who was the
Bulls' first-round draft pick in 2014. "When they're finding me
early in games, I'm getting clean looks, and it's really good for my
confidence. It allows me to maintain it throughout the whole game."
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The Bulls held a 79-74 lead at the end of the third quarter.
Bogdanovic scored 11 points to lead the Nets on a 20-10 run.
Nets center Brook Lopez said Bogdanovic played with purpose.
Bogdanovic made 10 of 17 shots from the field, including two of five
shots from beyond the arc.
"He has been confident," Lopez said. "That's the biggest thing. He's
ready to come in, be aggressive, take advantage of it and play
confidently."
Chicago led by as many as 24 points in the first half and
established a 55-37 advantage at the break. Mike Dunleavy heaved an
alley-oop pass to Butler for a two-handed slam dunk that gave
Chicago a 49-25 lead with 3:55 remaining in the second quarter.
Brooklyn responded with a 10-2 run, including a three-point play by
Lopez as he drove to the rim for a layup plus a free throw.
An 11-0 run boosted Chicago to a 24-14 lead after the first quarter.
McDermott scored seven points during the run, including a 3-pointer
from the left wing with 6.8 seconds remaining in the quarter.
Bulls guard E'Twaun Moore left the game in the first quarter after
injuring his left hamstring.
NOTES: Bulls C Pau Gasol missed his third straight game because of
swelling in his right knee. Coach Fred Hoiberg said Gasol likely
will miss at least a few more games because of the injury. Gasol,
35, is averaging 17 points and 11.1 rebounds this season. ...
Brooklyn signed C Henry Sims to a 10-day contract before Thursday's
game. Sims, 25, averaged 7.8 points and 4.9 rebounds during parts of
three seasons with New Orleans, Cleveland and Philadelphia. ...
Bulls G Derrick Rose made his second straight start after missing
the previous two games because of a left adductor strain. ... Nets G
Sergey Karasev made his first start of the season. He started 16
games for Brooklyn in 2014-15.
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