Sure, ask a Bulls fan and they’ll remind you the Bulls were on a back-to-back and that Derrick Rose is still getting his NBA legs under him.

But ignore them. So were the Nets, after all, and that meant no Kevin Garnett. Even so, this was a thorough, shocking domination of a legitimate Eastern Conference threat, a team on what was the longest winning streak in the NBA prior to the start, a team that defeated them earlier this year and has historically given these Nets trouble, a team that has had a surprisingly good offense and has always made its mark defensively in the Tom Thibodeau/Joakim Noah era.

This was possibly the most complete effort of the season for Brooklyn. Contributions galore on both ends of the floor. This is an effort to build on.

Brook Lopez

A+

The stats: 29 PTS, 13-21 FG, 5 REB, 2 BLK

#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball
#BrookLopezIsVeryGoodAtTheBasketball

With Kevin Garnett benched for requisite back-to-back rest, Lopez made a return to the starting lineup for the Nets and promptly looked like a starting center again, pouring on the points throughout by starting inside and working his way out.

Lopez hit a floater in the lane to open the game and bruised his way into the paint for some more touches, and later expanded into a few mid-range jumpers, even adding some of the sneaky easy looks he made his mark with as a top center in 2012-13. It also wasn’t just luck that he made the tough ones: he showed more explosiveness in getting his shots up.

The Nets have struggled in Brooklyn against Chicago, with Lopez & Joakim Noah at the epicenter of that discussion. But tonight, Lopez forced double-teams down the stretch and even played decent interior defense, one matador possession against Pau Gasol in the first quarter aside.

There’s still a lot left for Lopez to do. For instance: scoring like this in two straight games is a good start. He’s not rebounding, even at his own paltry level, and he can’t leap over his own unathletic reputation. But this was a step, and a big one, towards his eventual return.