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DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, still hampered by a bruised left calf, is "likely out" of Game 6 of their first-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday, coach Tom Thibodeau said.

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Chicago Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich "didn't do much" at practice on Wednesday and is considered a game-time decision for Game 6 against the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday with a bruised left calf, according to coach Tom Thibodeau.

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NEW YORK -- As the rest of his Chicago Bulls teammates got dressed and headed for the bus, Kirk Hinrich laid face down on a trainer's table in a side room as the Bulls medical staff did more work on his aching left calf. The pain and frustration on his face was palpable.

The veteran guard had expressed hope before Monday morning's shootaround that he may only have to miss one game, but his actions after Monday's game told a different story. As he dressed a few moments later and strapped on a walking boot, it looked and sounded very unlikely that he would be able to play in Thursday’s Game 6 unless a dramatic change of events occurred.

The impact Hinrich has on the game was not lost on his teammates after the Bulls' 19-point loss in Game 5. They know how much of a presence he has on and off the floor and they know they're in a bind without him.

"He's our captain," Bulls guard Nate Robinson said. "That's like Tom Brady going down and somebody has to come in and fill in for him. At the same time, you got to be ready. And I know our guys, all of us collectively, we're always ready to pick up somebody when they're down. So if Kirk plays or if he doesn't play we got to be ready regardless."

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NEW YORK -- The Chicago Bulls lost Game 5 – but you can’t blame the replacements.

With Derrick Rose continuing to sit, and fellow starting guard Kirk Hinrich joining him on the sideline with a calf injury, coach Tom Thibodeau gave Nate Robinson a starting nod on Monday, along with second-year man Jimmy Butler.

Both played well, keeping the Bulls within striking distance until the final four minutes, when the Nets pulled away for a 110-91 victory.

Robinson scored a team-high 20 points, shooting 9-for-19 from the field, and also had eight assists. Butler scored 18 points, and had four steals as well.

Thibodeau said that rebounding was the difference in the game. The Nets outboarded the Bulls 44-33, including 17-11 on the offensive glass, and had a 24-12 advantage in second-chance points.

“Right from the start of the game I knew [the Nets] were reacting to the ball quicker than we were,” Thibodeau said. “So I was concerned about that right from the beginning. And it never changed.”

Robinson received the loudest boos of any of Chicago’s five starters during the pregame introductions -- not surprising, considering he sparked the Bulls’ incredible comeback in Game 4 with an electrifying 34-point performance, including 23 points in the fourth quarter.

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NEW YORK -- The Chicago Bulls will try to close out their series against the Brooklyn Nets without guard Kirk Hinrich, who will miss Game 5 on Monday because of a bruised left calf.

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CHICAGO -- In the midst of delivering high praise for Nate Robinson's epic performance Saturday afternoon, Carlos Boozer made a point to remember one of his Chicago Bulls teammates who usually gets lost in the shuffle of more important performances.

"Don't underestimate the game that Kirk Hinrich played tonight, man," Boozer said. "Kirk Hinrich did a hell of a job. Obviously he was guarding their best player in D-Will, playing 60 minutes or whatever he played tonight, he played the whole game it seemed like. Scored the ball for us when he had to, he got everybody involved when he had to, played amazing defense. Don't underestimate what Kirk Hinrich did tonight."

Boozer’s right. While Robinson's performance will get the headlines for the Bulls' 142-134 overtime win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 4, and deservedly so, Hinrich's performance was almost as important. The veteran guard played almost 60 minutes, scoring 18 points and dishing out 14 assists in the memorable win. More importantly, Hinrich continued to frustrate Nets guard Deron Williams and set an early tone for his teammates. Williams would end up scoring 32 points, but Hinrich stayed in his face all day and stuck to his guns late as Williams managed just two points in the three overtimes.

"It was grueling," Hinrich admitted. "Just a total team effort tonight. It was just one of those things, we were having trouble stopping them, they were having trouble stopping us, and it ends up three overtimes later we finally get a winner."

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NEW YORK -- Carlos Boozer stood proudly in front of his locker late Monday night after the Chicago Bulls' Game 2 victory and offered up an easy explanation as to why his team could bounce back so well after such an embarrassing performance in Game 1.

"We're pros," Boozer said. "We're pros. We make adjustments just like any other team. We have a team full of veteran guys that have been in the playoffs before."

Understandably, much of the talk after the 90-82 win centered around the fact that the Bulls' defense tightened up and forced the Brooklyn Nets into a more rigid game. What shouldn't go understated is the fact that the Bulls never panicked even after critics wrote them off on Saturday night. They always believed they could win this series and they proved they could respond in a major way on Monday.

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NEW YORK -- The tone of the Chicago Bulls' hard-fought 90-82 win over the Brooklyn Nets in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference quarterfinals wasn't set at any point during the actual victory on Monday night.

The tone was actually set in a lower-level meeting room in one of New York City's swankiest hotels Sunday afternoon, just hours after Tom Thibodeau's team was embarrassed in Game 1 on Saturday. That's when the hard-charging coach let his team have it for playing without the type of edge that has set them apart in a season in which expectations were tempered because of ongoing issues to key players.

"He was really laying into guys," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said inside a raucous visitor's locker room at the Barclays Center. "I never saw him so inflamed. He was really calling guys out, letting guys know what he needed (them) to do. Everybody needed to go out there and dominate their matchup, go out and just put forth effort, and he really challenged guys the last couple days."

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NEW YORK -- Derrick Rose's conversations on the sideline Monday night may give the Chicago Bulls hope that he may be considering a return during the playoffs.

Rose, who sat on the end of the bench for just the third time this season during Game 2 of the Bulls' first-round playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets, acknowledged to teammates just how much he misses being out on the floor.

"Me and him were chatting it up the whole time at the end of the bench," forward Taj Gibson said after the Bulls' 90-82 victory. "He was just eager. He was just saying like, he can't wait to get back, he can't wait to play. And just critiquing the game, talking about what we needed to do, what kind of plays. He knew a lot of the sets coming out so he would just scream out plays. He was just hyped talking about good stuff."

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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 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 -- 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 -- 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.

CHICAGO -- Regardless of whether the Brooklyn Nets are the ideal first-round matchup for the Chicago Bulls in the first round of the NBA playoffs, it's the matchup the team didn't shy away from and ultimately earned.

The Bulls' 95-92 victory over the Washington Wizards on Wednesday in the regular-season finale wrapped up the No. 5 seed in the Eastern Conference and an opening playoff series which begins Saturday at Brooklyn.

Officially, the Bulls wrapped up the fifth spot late in Wednesday's game when the Atlanta Hawks fell to the New York Knicks to slide to the sixth spot, but the Bulls' victory meant they didn't back into the five-seed.

Yet while the Hawks rested key players, the Bulls did not as Luol Deng played 27 minutes, Carlos Boozer played 38 and Jimmy Butler played a whopping 43. At the very least, the Bulls head into the playoffs with their heads held high and their health as good as it's been in a long time.

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