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Defense Got Bulls To 49th Win

It's becoming more and more obvious that the key to the Chicago Bulls' success this season has been their defense, and it allowed them to come away with a victory on Thursday night when they only scored 84 points.

In the 84-73 win over the New Jersey Nets, only two of the Bulls' starters were able to reach double-digit scoring, although center Omer Asik had a double-double (11 points and 16 rebounds) in only 25 minutes played.

For the game, the Bulls shot 40% (33-81) from the floor and 20% (4-20) from three-point range.

"When you're not shooting the ball well, you want to be able to win," head coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Our defense and our rebounding and our taking care of the ball, that's what put us in position to win."

The Bulls have rebounded and played great defense all season long, they pull in the second most rebounds per game (44.5) and have the best defense in the NBA, allowing an average of only 90.9 points per game.

However, over their current eight-game win streak, the Bulls' defense has been even better, letting up an average of 82 points per game.

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