by Jordan Garretson, January 24, 2012

The Nets finished off their lone back-to-back of the season on Monday night in Chicago and despite a tough loss, Deron Williams came out with a positive outlook.

D-Will scored 16 points while shooting 50 percent (7-14) from the field and added 10 assists for his seventh double-double of the season and third in the last four games. But the Nets weren't able to overcome a furious start by the league-leading Bulls, who jumped out a 14-point first quarter lead on the way to a 110-95 win.

But Deron saw reason for optimism after the game as New Jersey, without its complete lineup and drained from three games in three nights, still managed to battle for 48 minutes against a formidable Bulls squad:

"I thought we played well," No. 8 said. "This is a good team and given the circumstances of the back-to-back-to-back, the third night, we knew it was going to be a tough one. They had everybody back in the lineup and you could just tell this is a contender. So I thought we played well in spurts, and spots -- we also played bad in spots."

The Nets may have been gassed as the game marked the third part of a back-to-back-to-back. The return of Derrick Rose to the Bulls lineup seemingly brought out the best in D-Will, but there was little left in No. 8's tank as he had played the majority of 48 minutes for three straight nights, ESPN New York's Mike Mazzeo wrote:

Deron Williams rose (pun totally intended) to the occasion on Monday night, scoring 16 points on an efficient 7-for-14 shooting while dishing out 10 assists. He disappeared in the fourth quarter, though, perhaps because he was dead tired. In all, he played 106 minutes over the last three nights. 

New Jersey came into the day hoping for some rare continuity in its lineup, but that possibility was dashed when MarShon Brooks was scratched due to a soreness in his left Achilles' tendon. Injuries have already rendered the Nets without two other starters, Brook Lopez and Damion James. But New Jersey tried to proceed as best it could, D-Will told The Star-Ledger: 

"It's a bit of a shock," Deron said. "[MarShon's] a big part of what we've been doing, and our success. But we've been dealing with injuries all season, so it was just a matter of guys stepping up."

D-Will did his best to help in that regard, getting his teammates going early with five first quarter assists. His passes found Mehmet Okur, Kris Humphries, Jordan Farmar and Larry Owens for 11 of New Jersey's 18 first quarter points. He added a pair of his own on a driving layup, but the Nets still trailed by 10 after one.

Deron took a breather early in the second quarter, but returned with just over seven minutes left and got hot from the field. He hit a fadeaway on his first possession back in the game to pull the Nets within 15.

In the final five minutes of the half, D-Will knocked down a jumper, then penetrated for a floater and later a layup to bring NJ within 11. He also tallied a pair of assists in the quarter, but all he could do only had the Nets within 16 at the half.

Chicago maintained a healthy double-digit lead for most of the night, though a late Nets rally narrowed the deficit and gave the Bulls a scare. Deron added six more points and three more assists in the third, but New Jersey never got closer than 13 and their best efforts were not enough against the NBA's top club, The Star-Ledger's Colin Stephenson wrote: 

There was one point in the third quarter where the Bulls pushed their lead to 21 points (68-47) but the Nets responded with a 7-0 run that got the gap down to 14 points and forced the Bulls to call timeout. The lead swelled back up to 20 in the fourth quarter (93-73), but again the Nets trimmed it back and never let the Bulls run away with it.

Though they lost by double-digits, optimism was prevalent around the Nets on Monday. Coach Avery Johnson credited his team for its survival skills in the face off all their adversity, as quoted by Andy Vazquez of The Record:

"I think they've been survivors," Johnson said of his team. "We've had to survive a lot. … They've done a nice job of surviving and hanging in there and the spirit of our team is good. I see it in shootarounds. I feel it in the locker room when I'm addressing them pregame. But I think they've been survivors and they've been really good in having the right type of spirit. They're not a team that has the type of spirit where they feel sorry for themselves."

UP NEXT

The Nets will get a well-deserved day off Tuesday, though when they resume their schedule Wednesday the competition won't get much easier.

New Jersey will play at Philadelphia, who is 8-1 at home and has won seven of its last 10 games overall, on Wednesday night. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. EST and the game can be seen on YES. 

RELATED STORIES

• Quick hits: Bulls 110, Nets 95 (ESPN.com, Jan. 23, 2012)
• Derrick Rose, Chicago Bulls top Nets, 110-95, as MarShon Brooks is a late scratch (The Star-Ledger, Jan. 23, 2012)
• Nets lose to Bulls (The New York Post, Jan. 24, 2012)
• Running of the Bulls too much for Farmar, Nets (The Record, Jan. 24, 2012)