In the final game of the season, the Nets chose to rest Brook Lopez, Jeremy Lin and Trevor Booker, while Quincy Acy, Sean Kilpatrick and Joe Harris sat out due to injury.
The Nets' approach kept Lopez from attempting to keep his brother, Bulls center Robin Lopez, out of the playoffs.
The path to the playoffs is simple for the Bulls - if they win, they're in.
"I understand the point of view that some of you have, some of the press has and maybe other teams".
"We have to look at it from the Brooklyn Nets franchise and what is best for us, and that's how we're looking into it in a vacuum", Atkinson explained as he and general manager Sean Marks quickly turned their attention to what should be a fascinating offseason. That's my responsibility as a coach to look at it in that vein.
Gordon Hayward scored 14 points and Rudy Gobert, George Hill and Shelvin Mack added 13 apiece to help Utah extend its home winning streak to a season-best nine games with a victory over San Antonio. They will face Cleveland in the opening round.
ORLANDO, Fla. - Aaron Gordon had 32 points and 12 rebounds, Elfrid Payton scored 21 points and the Orlando Magic overcame a late-run by Detroit to win their season-finale.
Bulls 112, Nets 73: Jimmy Butler scored 25 points as Chicago beat the depleted Brooklyn Nets. Every team, especially in the Eastern Conference, has had its ups and downs, has had a challenging year.
Grieving Thomas not expected to miss Celtics' playoff games
Given the tragedy Thomas suffered before Game 1 it's testament to the guard's fortitude that he is even playing this series . And then there's playoff Rondo who morphs into one of the best players on the planet when it matters most - the playoffs.
Beat a short-handed Brooklyn Nets team that plans to sit six players on Wednesday night and advance to the playoffs.
Cleveland still owns the tiebreaker, and they'd clinch home-court advantage with a win over the Toronto Raptors and a Boston loss. "You have to play your game". Marcin Gortat started all 82 games this season.
The Bulls (40-41) enter the NBA's regular season's final night in a three-way fight with the Indiana Pacers (41-40) and Miami Heat (40-41) for the East's final two spots. Two of its biggest institutional problems right now: "the misuse of player rest and that many teams are more incentivized to tank than to try to win are what come together tonight to punish a Miami team that instead, tried to do something that feels increasingly quaint these days, you know, actually play to make the playoffs".
The Indiana Pacers and the Chicago Bulls grabbed the final play-off berths in the Eastern Conference as the Boston Celtics secured top seeding. Rondo scored 10 points.
Goran Dragic led five scorers in double figures with 28 points, four rebounds and five assists, and Reed added 16 points and six rebounds off the bench. The Hawks, locked into a first round series with the Wizards, sat five players including All-Star Paul Millsap.
But to have a true appreciation for Johnson's game, comparing the Heat's performance when he was on and off the floor is a good measure.
James Harden recorded his 22nd triple-double and Houston tuned up for the post-season with a win over Minnesota.
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