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Kyrie Irving #11 of the Brooklyn Nets moves during the second game against the San Antonio Spurs at Barclays Center on January 02, 2023 in New York City. Dustin Satloff/Getty Images/AFP
A little over two months ago, Jacque Vaughn’s second stint as head coach of the Brooklyn Nets got off to a good start with a fourth quarter collapse at home against the Chicago Bulls.
Now, Vaughn and the Nets will head into Chicago riding the third-longest winning streak in franchise history and looking for their 13th win on Wednesday night.
The Nets are 23-7 since Vaughn took over for Steve Nash after the Nets dropped five of their first seven games. The Nets were outscored 31-19 in the fourth quarter of their Nov. 1 loss to the Bulls, falling 108-99.
Brooklyn went 11-7 in its first 18 games under Vaughn before starting its current winning streak with a 122-116 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Dec. 7.
Brooklyn has won twice in its winning streak, including Monday’s 139-103 win over the San Antonio Spurs. The Nets shot 62.4 percent, marking the fifth time this season they have shot at least 60 percent. All of that has come when it comes to winning.
“I always wanted to have that chemistry,” Brooklyn’s Ben Simmons said. “I think it takes time. It’s a new team, new coach. We’re having fun. We’re trying to win, put together this game and have fun.
The streak is two shy of the franchise record 14 games set twice, most recently March 12-April 6, 2006, when Vaughn appeared in every game as a backup guard. It’s also the NBA’s longest winning streak since the Phoenix Suns won 18 in a row Oct. 30-Dec. 2, 2021.
The Brooklyn star has flourished throughout the stretch. Kyrie Irving, who scored four points in Vaughn’s debut before being suspended for eight games, scored 27 on Monday. He shot 11 of 14 from the field, including a one-handed putback dunk in the second quarter, and averaged 29.3 points in 10 games played during that streak.
Kevin Durant added 25 and 11 assists Monday for his second double-double and averaged 28.8 points in 11 games played during the streak.
Chicago is trying to avoid a third straight loss after being swept at home by the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Bulls are 5-4 against the top four teams in the East (Boston, Brooklyn, Milwaukee and Cleveland) after taking two tough losses at the Cavaliers.
On Saturday, the Bulls nearly erased a seven-point deficit in the final two minutes of regulation but DeMar DeRozan missed the game-winner before the buzzer. On Monday, the Bulls led by 21 points in the first half and 18 points in the first half but were unable to stop Donovan Mitchell in a 145-134 loss in Cleveland.
Chicago allowed 71 points to Mitchell, who scored 24 points in the third quarter. Chicago then allowed Mitchell to score on the tying putback with 4.1 seconds left in regulation after he intentionally missed a free throw and appeared to be out of the foul line early. The Cavaliers then outscored the Bulls 15-4 in overtime.
“Obviously, we’ve got to block better regardless of the situation,” Chicago coach Billy Donovan said. “We know he’s going to miss it. We’ve got to go in and get it done. Whatever it is, we’ve got to deal with it. I’m a big believer in that.
The inability to stop Mitchell marred a 44-point performance from DeRozan, who also scored 42 a week ago in Chicago’s win over Milwaukee.
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