Bulls vs. Nets Final Score: Nate Robinson Powers Chicago Past Brooklyn in Triple-Overtime
By Josh Hill
It took over four hours, but the Chicago Bulls have taken a 3-1 series lead over the Brooklyn Nets with an epic 142-134 triple-overtime win on Saturday afternoon.
Nate Robinson isn’t a tall man, but he was better at basketball than anyone on the court in Chicago on Saturday. Things looked bleak for the Bulls late in their Game 4 matchup with the Brooklyn Nets, but Bulls guard Nate Robinson was simply better than everyone else on the hardwood inside the United Center.
Robinson got bulldozed by Gerald Wallace late in the fourth quarter with the Bulls looking like they were limping towards a 2-2 series tie. BUt After getting blasted, Robinson dropped the Bulls next seven points and sparked a 16-2 run that sent the game into overtime. But Robinson’s amazing game didn’t end there, as he built on his 23 point fourth-quarter performance by hitting an amazing leaping shot with second left in overtime to give Chicago a two point lead.
That’s the kind of game it was for the Bulls on Saturday, and really it’s been the case since they started playing without Derrick Rose. All year long the Bulls had been cast aside but guys kept stepping up and keeping the Bulls in the playoff hunt. Now, Chicago has used an absolutely incredible 34 point game to take a commanding 3-1 series lead heading back to Brooklyn.
As for the Nets, things looked good towards the end of the game when they started to pour it on the Bulls. But something happened and it turned out the Nets great late game performance was a flash rather than a consistent close-out attempt.
Give the Nets credit though, as they stuck with the Bulls despite the late surge led by Nate Robinson. After the Bulls took a two-point lead in the first overtime, Brooklyn used an identical shot to tie the game and send the bout to double-overtime. It was here the Brooklyn was able to foul Nate Robinson out of the game and finally get him and his production off the court.
In fact, it took not one, not two but three overtimes to decide a winner, but despite having two massive pieces of their lineup foul out in Robinson and eventually Taj Gibson, Chicago endured and pulled out the exhausting win. The series heads to Brooklyn next week where the Bulls will look to close things out and move to the next round.