With Derrick Rise sidelined once again by his nagging back injury, the Chicago Bulls had no answer for Deron Williams and the New Jersey Nets in the opening half, as they trail 59-45.
Although he struggled a bit with his shot in the opening half, Williams still managed to score a team-high 21 points and dish out seven assists in 22 minutes of action. Williams shot just 6/15 from the field, but the All-Star guard did hit all four of his three-point attempts. Kris Humphries was active in the paint for the Nets, scoring 12 points and grabbing nine rebounds.
Chicago struggled mightily on the offensive end, shooting just 35.6% from the field as a team. C.J. Watson led the way with eight points, while Mike James came off the bench to score five points and dish out five assists. Joakim Noah struggled to make any impact, as he was held scoreless and only snatched two rebounds.
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