BULLS OFF TO 3- 0 START
BULLS OFF TO THEIR FIRST3- 0 START SINCE 1996- 97 SEASON
NEW YORK — Don’t let Rajon Rondo knowit’s the first 3- 0 start for the Bulls since the 1996- 97 season.
“We’re not settling on what we’ve done; we haven’t done anything but win games that we were supposed to win,’’ Rondo said after the Bulls’ 118- 88 victory Monday against the Nets at the Barclays Center.
Sure, their opening- night win came after the Celtics had to play a back- to- back. The Pacers, whom the Bulls beat Saturday, also were playing a back- to- back. And Brooklyn, well, is Brooklyn.
But these Bulls aren’t just jumping on teams early and keeping them down. They have a plan and are executing it to perfection, and they look like one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference early on.
This isn’t what was expected after the preseason.
“That’s part of what the media does,’’ Rondo said of the critics during training camp. “Until you’re inside this locker room and understand the way we fight for one another and how we fight each other in practice every day, the way we compete, it’s translating on the court.’’ In a big way. Dwyane Wade said the Nets were supposed to be the “first road test.’’ They weren’t even a contest.
The Bulls were up by 11 points seven minutes into the game, and like they did against the Pacers, there was no letting up.
By the end of the first quarter, they had a 38- 20 lead and were shooting 58 percent from the field, led by Jimmy Butler, who went 5- for- 5 and had 13 points.
Any hopes the Nets ( 1- 3) had of grabbing back momentum on their homecourt in the second quarter were quickly put to rest by Isaiah Canaan, who came off the bench to score 13 points in the quarter.
Not everything went well before the half, however. Michael Carter-Williams crumbled to the floor with 9: 37 left in the second quarter, grabbing his left knee. Coach Fred Hoiberg was hoping it was only a sprain, but the newly acquired guard was scheduled for an MRI exam Tuesday.
He eventually walked off the court on his own but went to the locker room and was ruled out for the rest of the game.
Not that there was much of a game left.
“It’s a game of runs, and in this game, every team is going to fight back,’’ Rondo said. “We knew they would make a run and try to make some shots, and we figured out how to keep the lead above 20.’’
The Bulls outscored the Nets 2822 in the third quarter.
Butler, who finishedwith 22 points and six rebounds, was one of seven Bulls in double figures. The Bulls were executing the ball movement Hoiberg envisioned for last season’s squad that never materialized.
“To tell you the truth, I think it’s everyone’s will to win,’’ Butler said. “We got D- Wade, who knows how to win championships, Rondo, who knows how to win championships, so they’re constantly on us, ‘ Hey, when you get up, do what you’re supposed to do, then get your rest.’’’