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Bulls-Nets Preview

Apr 9, 2010 - 5:28 AM By JEFF MEZYDLO STATS Senior Writer

Chicago (37-40) at New Jersey (11-67), 8:00 p.m. EDT

A late-season surge has the Chicago Bulls on the verge of moving into playoff position in the Eastern Conference.

The Bulls have a good chance to continue making that move when they visit the lowly New Jersey Nets on Friday night.

After missing an opportunity to help their playoff push by falling 79-74 at home to Milwaukee on Tuesday, Chicago (38-40) bounced back Thursday with a 109-108 win over Cleveland, which gave superstar LeBron James the night off to rest.

The victory was the Bulls' seventh in 10 games, and moved them into a tie with Toronto for the eighth and final playoff spot in the East with four games remaining.

"We cannot get too high. We cannot have any let down," forward Joakim Noah told the Bulls' official Web site after finishing with 17 points and 15 rebounds. "We have to go into New Jersey and play our game."

Although Toronto owns the tiebreaker, the Bulls' chances of gaining the final playoff spot appear good with Raptors star Chris Bosh expected to miss several weeks after surgery to repair a facial fracture. Chicago plays Sunday at Toronto, which visits playoff-bound Atlanta on Friday.

Even with James sitting out, Chicago's latest victory could provide a surge of momentum heading into the final four games - three of which are on the road.

Derrick Rose had 24 points with 10 assists, and Luol Deng added 22 with 10 rebounds as the Bulls blew a 12-point third-quarter lead but managed to hang on. Rose is averaging 21.7 points and 8.3 assists in his last six games.

"It's a big win," said Kirk Hinrich, who scored 23 against the Cavaliers. "We definitely needed it. We let a lot of opportunities slip by and it just feels good to take advantage of it."

In four games back after missing 11 with a strained calf, Deng has averaged 16.0 points with double-doubles in his last two contests. The veteran forward had 27 points with nine rebounds in a 103-101 home loss to New Jersey on Dec. 8.

Though the Bulls split the previous two games - both at home - with the Nets (11-67) this season, New Jersey will at least have a share of the league's worst record. Chicago also will be trying for its fourth consecutive road victory in this contest.

Though the end of the season can't come soon enough for the Nets, they've won four of five at home and 14 of the last 15 there against the Bulls.

New Jersey looks to avoid a third straight loss overall after falling 108-89 at Milwaukee on Wednesday. Devin Harris scored 18 of his 25 points in the first quarter, but the Nets shot 39.5 percent and were held to 31 points in the second half.

"It was just a tough night for us, everybody struggled," Nets coach Kiki Vandeweghe said.

Harris has totaled 47 points on 18-of-32 shooting in his last two games, but he's averaged 12.5 points in two games versus the Bulls this season.