CHICAGO — The Nets’ woes in back-to-backs has been well-documented. But coach Kenny Atkinson switched up his rotations and dug deeper into his bench Wednesday night to help Brooklyn pull out a 96-93 win over the Bulls at United Center.
“We changed our substitution patterns, tried to get our subs in a little earlier to keep ourselves fresh,” Atkinson said.
“I think it was legs. I felt like our guys that were playing big minutes, they looked a little tired. I just tried to get our subs in earlier, threw Shabazz [Napier] in there. He gave us some good minutes. We needed everybody.”
The Nets snapped a losing skid of 33 straight in the road portion of a back-to-back earlier this month against the Knicks at the Garden. This was another back-to-back hurdle, backing up Tuesday’s home win over LeBron James’ Lakers by coming from behind to beat the Bulls.
Napier did not play in five of the Nets’ previous six games, logging just a 4:57 cameo on Dec. 16 against Atlanta. But he turned in 10:03 key minutes Wednesday, even starting the second half when rookie Rodions Kurucs was struggling.
“We just know that everybody has to do their part,” D’Angelo Russell said. “Back to back, three in four [days], we need the whole team. Whoever’s on the floor, we need them.”
Rondae Hollis-Jefferson (quad) played despite being questionable and a game-time decision. He finished with nine points and three boards in 27:40, and played some key defense in the final minute.
Allen Crabbe (knee) missed a fourth straight game.
“[Crabbe] is still day-to-day. I don’t think [it’s bad]. It’s not serious. We’re just being cautious. He’s got to build up a little bit before he comes back,” said Atkinson, who wasn’t adamant about having to see Crabbe practice before he plays.
“We have off days, a day like [Thursday] we can easily create a three on three, or a five on five. We have enough manpower to do that. So that’s not a concern. We can get him the work he needs before he plays.”
The win Tuesday over the Lakers did a 1.39 average household rating on YES, the network’s highest-rated Nets game since Dec. 8, 2014 (also against LeBron James). Tuesday peaked at 2.23 at 9:30 p.m. For comparison, the Nets averaged a 0.38 rating last season.
Spencer Dinwiddie’s shoes Wednesday paid homage to President Barack Obama, a longtime Chicago resident and Illinois senator from 2005-08.
The Bulls’ Zach LaVine (ankle) will miss the next two to four weeks, according to Chicago coach Jim Boylen. … Jabari Parker was out again with a stomach ailment. A disappointment after inking a two-year, $40 million deal, Parker is out of the rotation and on the trade block.