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NEW YORK -- The most talked about player on the Chicago Bulls is someone who hasn't played a minute all season, Derrick Rose.

It's time to start talking about someone else -- namely, Joakim Noah.

He's the No. 1 reason why the Bulls are headed back to Chicago all square with the Brooklyn Nets, following a 90-82 victory in Game 2 of their first-round playoff series.

Noah has had far better games statistically than his 11-point, 10-rebound performance on Monday. But the box score doesn't nearly tell the story. Playing through plantar fasciitis in his right foot, which sidelined him for most of the final month of the regular season, Noah was in the middle of almost every key play in the fourth quarter, as the Bulls fought off a Brooklyn rally.

"Jo's giving us everything he has," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "And we're obviously a lot better with him on the floor."

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The story of Game 2 of the Brooklyn Nets-Chicago Bulls series can be told in a pair of shot charts (which you can see above) and a very simple graphic noted in the chart on the right.

The Nets dominated inside in Game 1 of the series, but could do little against Joakim Noah and company in Game 2.


This was particularly true in the third quarter when the Bulls outscored the Nets in the paint, 10-4, and held Brooklyn to the 2-for-19 shooting from the field. We've put the spotlight on that with the images above.

Noah's impact was much more pronounced in Game 2.

With Noah on the floor in Game 1, the Nets made 7-of-10 shots in the paint and were 6-for-8 from within 5 feet.

In Game 2, the Nets shot just 8-for-21 in the paint including just 7-for-15 from within 5 feet.

Difference Maker: Kirk Hinrich
Noah will get a lot of attention for his defensive work in Game 2, but Kirk Hinrich played a very significant role as well, holding Deron Williams to 1-for-9 shooting.

The Bulls outscored the Nets by 10 points with Hinrich on the floor in Game 2. They were outscored by 19 with him on the court in Game 1.

Value of a win
And just how important was Game 2 for the Bulls?

Teams that go down 2-0 in a best-of-7 series win the series just six percent of the time (15-233 all-time).

NEW YORK -- Here's a quick look at how the Chicago Bulls pulled out a 90-82 victory over the Brooklyn Nets on Monday night at Barclays Center to even their Eastern Conference quarterfinals series 1-1:

How it happened: Luol Deng bounced back in a major way after a poor Game 1 performance, scoring 15 points with nine rebounds and four assists. Carlos Boozer added 13 points and 12 rebounds, while Joakim Noah gutted out 11 points, 10 rebounds and three assists in 26 minutes. The Bulls' defense was on point throughout the game and frustrated the Nets from beginning to end.

What it means: The Bulls were embarrassed about their performance in their Game 1 loss on Saturday and played with the type of edge that has become their trademark over the past few seasons. Deng set an early hard-nosed tone that his teammates followed while Boozer racked his usual double-double. The key for the Bulls was their defense on Deron Williams, who had 22 points in Game 1. Kirk Hinrich stayed in control on Williams and the Bulls were able to control the tempo in the process. They didn't allow the Nets to get easy run-outs and they made sure they kept their defensive intensity up their entire game. The Bulls did exactly what they wanted to do before they left Chicago -- they grabbed a game on the road and stole home-court advantage. They believed they could win this series before it started, and that confidence will be even higher after they pulled together to win this one.

Hits: The Bulls shot 48.1 percent from the field.

Misses: Williams was just 1-for-9 from the field.

Stat of the night: After being outscored 56-36 in the paint in Game 1, the Bulls outscored the Nets 42-30 on Monday.

What's next: Game 3 is at 7:30 p.m. CT on Thursday at the United Center.

NEW YORK -- Chicago Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau doesn't want to shut the door on possible return for Derrick Rose this season and is leaning on his previous experience as an assistant for the New York Knicks, Houston Rockets and Boston Celtics as guidance.

Thibodeau said on Saturday that Rose was "most likely out" for the postseason but he continues to hold out hope that Rose may be able to play at some point as he continues to recover from ACL surgery.

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NEW YORK -- Luol Deng played his worst game of the season in Game 1 on Saturday night -- scoring just six points and struggling defensively on Gerald Wallace -- but he has already put that performance behind him.

"I've had bad games before," Deng said. "It's nothing new. You never go out there and try to have a bad game on purpose. I thought the game got out of hand early, should have stayed aggressive but kind of tried to play our way back into it.

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NEW YORK -- Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah will start in Game 2 against the Brooklyn Nets and will play 20-25 minutes as he deals with ongoing issues with plantar fasciitis in his right foot.

"I'm feeling alright," Noah said before the Bulls' morning shootaround.

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NEW YORK -- The waiting media gathered on the lower level of one of the ritziest hotels in New York City on Sunday afternoon to speak with Tom Thibodeau and his Chicago Bulls after they were manhandled in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals by the Brooklyn Nets.

As the players began to file out of a conference room that had been taped on the floor to resemble one half of a basketball court, two lines began to form to give the players a walkway to get to their next destination. Player after player filed out without much interruption, and then Derrick Rose appeared.

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NEW YORK -- One New York hotel, two unhappy basketball teams.

The Boston Celtics and Chicago Bulls are staying at the same location this weekend. Both lost their playoff openers Saturday, the Celtics falling 85-78 to the New York Knicks and the Bulls getting routed 106-89 by the Nets in Brooklyn.

"This was a quiet, dark hotel last night. The New York-area teams didn't treat the guests very well," Celtics coach Doc Rivers said Sunday.

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NEW YORK -- Chicago Bulls head coach Tom Thibodeau expects Joakim Noah (plantar fasciitis) and Kirk Hinrich (thigh bruise) to play in Game 2 Monday night against the Brooklyn Nets.

"(They're feeling) actually pretty good," Thibodeau said after the Bulls' film session Sunday. “So the one plus is Jo felt pretty good today."

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NEW YORK -- Luol Deng sat in front of his locker late Saturday night icing his aching feet in a red cooler. He exchanged whispers with Joakim Noah as the crowded Chicago Bulls locker room began to fill with reporters.

As Noah stood up and hobbled off to the shower, Deng said: "Stay up buddy," to his teammate.

After shooting just 3-for-11 from the field and scoring six points while getting run around by Brooklyn Nets forward Gerald Wallace, Deng should take a piece of his own advice and repeat his mantra into a mirror over and over before Game 2.

Deng didn't just have his worst game of the season in the Nets' 106-89 destruction of the Bulls in Game 1, he had his worst game in several years. He missed several looks early, got frustrated, and for the first time in recent memory, got thoroughly outplayed by his counterpart, Wallace, who scored 14 points.

"He's a good player," Deng said. "He had a good night tonight, but it's one of those things. I play hard, I battle, so I'm just looking at it as I had a bad game tonight. We lost one, but we'll bounce back next game."

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NEW YORK -- Here's a quick look at the Chicago Bulls' 106-89 loss to the Brooklyn Nets in Game 1 of their playoff series Saturday at the Barclays Center:

How it happened: Deron Williams had 22 points and seven assists as the Nets dominated this game from start to finish. Brook Lopez added 21 points and five rebounds and Gerald Wallace chipped in with 14 points and five rebounds. Carlos Boozer led the way offensively for the Bulls, scoring 25 points and pulling down eight rebounds. Joakim Noah played just 13 minutes and was largely ineffective because of ongoing issues with plantar fasciitis.

What it means: Given the circumstances, this was by far the worst game the Bulls have played all season. They got out-worked throughout the night and their defense was terrible. Obviously, the Nets aren't going to shoot this way throughout the series, but the Bulls' issues run much deeper than their poor performance on Saturday night. Noah tried as hard as he could to give the Bulls something, but he looks too injured to play. Kirk Hinrich had little impact on the game and then injured his left quad in the third quarter and never returned. The Bulls' offense was lifeless and never found any kind of rhythm. But perhaps most upsetting for coach Tom Thibodeau was the fact that Luol Deng played one of the worst games of his career, scoring just six points and going 3-for-11 from the field.

Hits: The Nets shot 55.8 percent from the field and turned the ball over just eight times.

Misses: Marco Belinelli, Richard Hamilton, Hinrich and Deng combined to go just 5-for-23 from the field.

Stat of the night: The Nets outscored the Bulls 56-36 in the paint.

What's next: Game 2 at 7 p.m. CT Monday at the Barclays Center.

NEW YORK -- Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich left Saturday's Game 1 of an Eastern Conference quarterfinal against the Brooklyn Nets with a left thigh bruise and did not return.

Hinrich has 2 points, 2 assists and 2 rebounds in 28 minutes.

NEW YORK -- Chicago Bulls guard Derrick Rose didn't play Saturday in Game 1 of their playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets, but he did sit with his team on the bench, and coach Tom Thibodeau said that may continue with more healthy players.

"There's two schools of thought on that," Thibodeau said. "He was doing a lot of rehab work before, and we had so many guys that were hurt, I actually didn't want them all on the bench. I just thought it was more important for our guys to be focused on guys that we had. That part was really me. Now that we've gotten guys healthy he may be out there more."

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NEW YORK -- Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah will start Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals against the Brooklyn Nets on Saturday night.

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NEW YORK -- As the Bulls get set to open another postseason run Saturday night against the Brooklyn Nets, the similarities to last season's ill-fated run remain.

With all the injuries the team has dealt with and the fact that Derrick Rose is unlikely to play no matter how deep the Bulls go, Tom Thibodeau's players can see that their situation looks a lot like it did last season.

"It's kind of similar in a lot of ways," Bulls guard Rip Hamilton said. "It's kind of similar. It's like, if you look at both situations and you look at this year's situation, it's kind of like identical."

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