Brooklyn Nets snatch a win and force Game 6 vs. Chicago Bulls in NBA Playoffs

Deron Williams needed to have a perfect game last night against the Chicago Bulls to force a Game 6, and he nearly did that, as the Nets overcame the Bulls in a 110-91 home win Monday night at the Barclays Center.

Williams scored 23 points and 10 assists and Brook Lopez added 28 points for the Nets, who blew a 14-point lead in the three-overtime loss in Game 4 on Saturday in Chicago.

Reggie Evans grabbed 12 rebounds and Gerald Wallace scored 12 points which contributed to Brooklyn's miracle comeback on Monday. Andray Blatche was clutch in the fourth quarter scoring 10 of his 13 points in the last 12 minutes of the game that potentially would've been his team's last game of the season.

Nate Robinson started Monday night for Chicago in place of Kirk Hinrich who suffered from a bruised left calf. He added 20 points and eight assists for the Bulls.

Before the game, Bulls' head coach Tom Thibodeau said that he wasn't worried about Robinson's behavior in Game 4 that resulted in a scuffle between the 5-foot-9 point guard and Nets' guard C.J. Watson. Both guards, who have developed a hate relationship throughout their careers received technical fouls. After Saturday's game, the NBA reviewed the fouls and league revoked Watson's call.

"Nate Robinson is never going to change," Thibodeau said. "He makes things happen."

The talk of the night centered also around Jason Collins, the free agent now known for becoming the first active NBA player to come out as gay. Many of the NBA players sent messages to Collins after the story broke Monday, with most sending supportive tweets through social media.

"Jason Collins has announced that he is gay. I know Jason and his family well and I support him 100%," NBA Legend Magic Johnson tweeted. "Jason can feel good in knowing that the NBA will support him."

P.J. Carlesimo expressed his support for Collins and said the center is reflective of what the NBA stands for. The Nets coach also reminisced on how the NBA was 10 years ago and said that the league wasn't ready for Collins' sexuality back in 2003.

He also added that he wasn't worried about any same-sex issue in the Nets' locker room.

For now, the only thing Carlesimo is worried about is winning Game 6, as Brooklyn will travel to Chicago to revive their season.

The Nets take on the Bulls on May 2 and Nets fans will be watching!

The end-of-season stench of disappointment that occupied the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, NY, the newly minted home of the NBA Brooklyn Nets, is gone, for now.

What has replenished the stench is a new smell, more appealing to the ever-growing fan base that the Nets continue to grow. That new smell, similar to a new car smell is hope, opportunity, and expectations. Those are the words that can be and will be attached to the Nets as they begin their 2013 NBA campaign on the road against a promising Cleveland Cavaliers basketball club. What's different about this year's assembled Nets team, despite its new home, is billionaire boys' club owner Mikhail Prokhorov's recently retired and just hired NBA coach Jason Kidd and the new additions that they have acquired to help bolster their roster with the expectations of positive results.

Welcome, Paul Pierce, the 36-year-old veteran, or as we like to refer to him as "The Truth", who has produced a resume that boasts an NBA championship, an NBA Finals MVP and 10 All-Star selections most notably. Meet Kevin Garnett, who aided Pierce in achieving their first NBA championship in 2008 with the Boston Celtics. Garnett is also the proud owner of an impeccable resume, which includes 15 All-Star selections, an MVP award, and the Defensive Player of the Year award, utilizing his anger to induce pain on everyone, not on his team. These Hall of Fame-bound players have to be properly introduced and separated from the rest of the players that complete the Nets offseason moves, and those players include journeyman Jason Terry, wingman Alan Anderson, a rehabilitated and resurrected Shaun Livingston, forward Andrei Kirilenko, and 1st Round Draft Pick center, Mason Plumlee. When you review the Nets 2012-2013 NBA season, analyzing their wins, playoff success or lack thereof, and compare it to the offseason roster changes to modify their chances within the eastern conference there's only one question that needs a response. How good can the Nets be this season? I think they can be very good, but at what expense?

When teams agree to swap players, contracts or draft picks, the overall and general goal is to rid themselves of their unwanted parts to gain something in return that they value more than what they have decided to give up. In this case, the Nets gave up relatively young starters and role players in forwards Kris Humphries, Gerald Wallace and guards, Marshon Brooks and Keith Bogans. The combination of Pierce and Garnett representing the upgrades in the starting lineup over Humphries and Wallace at both forward spots is a no-brainer every day of the week, but the difference is which tandem is actually capable of remaining on the court for the duration of an entire 82-game NBA regular season. The Boston Celtics realized that their condensed version of a dynasty, which produced an NBA Championship, had come to a close. On the other hand, the Nets felt that the addition of two soon-to-be Hall-of-Famers may be exactly what they need to make their dreams of contending for the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy a reality.

Basically, the Nets want to win now, but can they really? The Eastern Conference for all intended purposes has regained its honor back in being a respectable conference. The infusion of young talent and well organized and assembled teams spell trouble for the Nets in its climb to reach the mountaintop. Derrick Rose is healthy this year, returning to the same Bulls team that eliminated the Nets in the 1st round of the 2012-2013 postseason. Rose accomplishes the feat of the missing bulk to the Bulls' starting lineup. The Indiana Pacers added backup point guard CJ Watson, and forwards Chris Copeland and Luis Scola to replenish its bench. The Pacers also have All-Star forward Danny Granger back from injury to pair alongside budding star forward Paul George, who enjoyed the finest NBA season of his career averaging 17.4 points and being selected to his first All-Star team. The other NBA team sharing the same state with the Nets in neighboring Manhattan is the New York Knicks. It, too, has altered its roster adding famed NBA bad boy Metta World Peace (formerly Ron Artest) to further improve its team defense. The Knicks also acquired forward Andrea Bargnani from the Toronto Raptors to help take the pressure off star forward Carmelo Anthony on the offensive end of the court. Meanwhile, the defending Champs in the Miami Heat are prepped for another title run. The Heat boasts the "Super Friends" in forwards Lebron James, Chris Bosh, and guard Dwyane Wade. The Heat also added much-needed size to its frontcourt in signing former 2007 number 1 overall draft pick in center Greg Oden, as well as, scoring punch off the bench by forward Michael Beasley, the Heat's former Number 2 overall draft pick in 2008.

On paper, the Nets can contend, but the court is where it matters. The questions that the Nets will be forced to answer beginning October 30th, on the road in a meet and greet with the Cleveland Cavaliers will be: Can Jason Kidd inspire starting point guard Deron Williams to play at a level that we have not seen yet? Can Jason Kidd in his initial year as a Head Coach manage the variety of personalities at his disposal? Will Pierce and Garnett survive the 82-game schedule to play in meaningful games in May and June? Will the defense be able to control the game that best fits their strengths, as they will have a difficult time defending the fast-break as well as completing them? And finally, will the bench be able to pick up the time that Pierce and Garnett will inevitably miss this year to keep the team afloat in their absence? If the Nets can answer all of these questions, Brooklyn will have a summer for the ages, but this is their Graduate Record Examination (GRE) test and not everyone can obtain their Masters.