BULLS LOSE DESPITE WADE’S COMEBACK
Dwyane Wade plays first game since March 15 but Bulls lose to Nets Bulls give up 32 points in fourth quarter, tie Miami for no. 8 in East Lillard sets Franchise record 59 points for Portland against Utah
Dwyane Wade returned but the Chicago Bulls sustained a potentially costly loss when the Brooklyn Nets beat them 107-106 on Saturday.
Spencer Dinwiddie made four free throws in the final 13.6 seconds for the Nets in their home finale. He scored 19 points, as did rookie Caris LeVert.
Jimmy Butler scored 33 points for the Bulls, who fell into a tie with Miami for eighth in the Eastern Conference.
Wade started and played 25 minutes, scoring 14 points. He had been expected to miss the remainder of the regular season when he sprained his right elbow on March 15.
But the Bulls allowed 32 points in the fourth quarter, with Dinwiddie snapping a 103-all with two free throws with 13.6 seconds to play. Butler missed a jumper and Dinwiddie put it away with another pair with 2.4 to play.
In Portland, Damian Lillard scored a franchise-record 59 points and matched his career high with nine 3-pointers to help Portland beat Utah, 101-86.
Lillard surpassed Damon Stoudamire’s previous record of 54 points with a step-back 3-pointer. The crowd on its feet, he raised his arms in celebration then pounded his chest.
The win kept the Blazers ahead of the Denver Nuggets for the eighth and final playoff spot in the Western Conference with just two games left.
It was Lillard’s 27th game with 30 or more points this season, a franchise high. Stoudamire set the previous franchise record for points on Jan. 14, 2005, at New Orleans.
Gordon Hayward had 21 points for the Jazz, battling with the Los Angeles Clippers for the fourth spot in the West and home court advantage. /