Lopez leads Nets over Bulls

Brook Lopez had a seasonhigh 29 points, Joe Johnson had a double-double with 20 points and 11 rebounds and the Brooklyn Nets posted a 96-82 victory to snap the Bulls’ seven-game winning streak on Tuesday night at the United Center.

Lopez, playing in just his fifth game since returning from a lower back strain, started in place of Kevin Garnett and was 13-for-21 from the field.

Johnson was 8-for-14 from the field.

Mike Dunleavy led the Bulls (22-10) with 23 points on 9-for-15 shooting, including 5-for-9 on three-pointers.

Jimmy Butler, who averaged 26.4 points during the winning streak, had just eight points. Derrick Rose had just four.

Brooklyn (15-16) had just one previous win this season against a team with a winning record, a 99-87 win at San Antonio on Nov. 22.

During their seven-game streak, the Bulls had averaged 106.6 points on 45.4 percent shooting. But after a 31-point first quarter, they struggled to score the rest of the game.

Depth has been one of the Bulls’ strengths this season, but the backcourt depth was put to the test early in the second quarter when backup point guard Aaron Brooks was ejected after picking up two quick technical fouls.

With the players heading toward the bench following a timeout with 9:42 remaining in the first half, Brooks picked up the first technical from official David Guthrie for bouncing the ball hard back onto the court.

At that point, Brooks turned and said something to Guthrie. The official then called the second technical, resulting in the automatic ejection.