Brooklyn, NY

Joakim Noah tallied 24 points, 14 boards and six blocks as the Chicago Bulls eliminated the Brooklyn Nets with a 99-93 triumph in Game 7 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Saturday at Barclays Center.

Marco Belinelli also added 24 points on 8-for-14 shooting, Carlos Boozer had 17 points and Nate Robinson scored 12 for the Bulls, who will face defending champion Miami Heat in the conference semifinal that will start Monday.

Deron Williams matched Noah's output with 24 points on top of seven rebounds and six assists while Brook Lopez had 21 points and nine boards for the Nets, who failed to become the ninth team to win a playoff series after overhauling a 3-1 deficit.

Gerald Wallace was the third player to score in double digits for the Nets with 19 points while backup center Andray Blatche had nine points.

The Bulls made 40 of 82 attempts from the field for a 48.8 percent clip while the Nets made just 35 of 86 tries for 40.7 percent.

The Bulls played without key players Loul Deng and Kirk Hinrich, who were out with illness and bruised left calf, respectively, but their absence did not matter as they led by as many as 17 points, 61-44, at the break.

The Nets opened the third with a 21-8 blast sparked by Wallace and Williams to trim the deficit to 69-65 with 5:26 remaining.

However, Jimmy Butler and Nate Robinson answered with a 5-0 blast to douse the Nets' rally before Noah scored the last four points for a more comfortable seven-point cushion heading into the final period.

 

Joakim Noah Stars as Bulls Oust Nets in Game 7

 

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