Bulls 95 – Nets 86

CHICAGO – So much seemed to be going the Nets’ way. Detroit was in a fight and eventually lost. Philadelphia lost. Indiana was in trouble. The Nets were leading. First place in the Eastern Conference was a possibility by the end of the night.

And then so much went so horribly wrong. The offense disappeared at the end of the game and the Bulls ran off the game’s last 14 points and suddenly all the lessons learned from Wednesday’s distasteful defeat in Atlanta went up in smoke in a 95-86 loss here last night.

The loss left the Nets tied with the Pistons for the Eastern Conference lead with three games to play, but Detroit owns the tiebreaker.

About the only good news the Nets received was on the injury front. Kenyon Martin was thought to have aggravated his right knee he sprained Mar. 31, but it turned out to be a cramp. Martin came up limping after a stand on the defensive end midway through the fourth quarter. During an ensuing timeout at 5:22, he received some quick treatment from trainer Tim Walsh and returned to finish the game – but he removed the plastic brace that was supporting the knee.

The Nets seemed in good shape, up 86-81 when Aaron Williams scored at 4:55. But the Bulls ran off their 14 straight points as the Nets missed five shots and committed four turnovers.

Eddy Curry finished with 24 points and Jalen Rose scored 23 for the Bulls. The Nets got 29 from Martin, 17 from Richard Jefferson, plus 11 points and 12 assists from Jason Kidd.

“No. None whatsoever,” coach Byron Scott claimed before the game when asked if he had any fears that the Nets might overlook the Bulls. “Not after the last game. Not after said the things have been said. I don’t think anybody in that locker room will come on this floor and be very lackadaisical in our effort.”

Remember, that was before the game. Then the game started. “None whatsoever” regarding worries quickly became “Yup, lots.”

The Nets brain-locked at both ends. The Bulls, who are now 26-14 at home (better than Philly, Boston and Orlando), shot .538 in the first half. The result was another double-digit deficit as the Bulls were up 15 points, 38-23.

Then a light seemed to off for the Nets. They abandoned jumpers and started going hard to the basket, led particularly by Martin, sore right knee and all. And so the road team got back into it at the line.

The Nets strung together an 11-2 streak, seven points coming at the line to get within 42-36. Martin continued his assault in the third quarter, scoring nine of the points in an 11-4 run that brought the Nets to within four points, 56-52.

The Bulls were without Tyson Chandler (esophagitis), Donyell Marshall (shoulder) and Eddie Robinson (migraine). But, hey, they had Rick Brunson, Lonnie Baxter and Dalibor Bagaric.

The Nets simply can’t handle prosperity. Just a few days ago, they were in first place in the East, needing to close the season with five victories to secure the prize they sought all season. Then came Atlanta.

“When our back is against the wall, we play our best basketball,” assessed Lucious Harris. “If we have margin for error, it’s like, ‘We will mess it up.’ ”