NEW YORK _ On the February night he first addressed being removed from the starting lineup as the Bulls publicly stated their post-All-Star-break shift to player development, Robin Lopez offered a classic response when asked about tanking.
"I'm not familiar with military artillery," Lopez said that night.
The affable center has become so, though, from his spot reclining on the floor in front of the Bulls' bench, wearing a uniform he doesn't really need.
There Lopez sat again Monday night at Barclays Center, dressed and active for a 114-105 loss to the Nets in which he didn't participate as the Bulls moved ahead of their opponent for sole possession of seventh in the draft lottery standings with one game to play.
Talk about clutch.
It's odd to write about losses in such fashion. But such has become reality for the Bulls, who again trotted out Omer Asik and used a fourth-quarter lineup in which Jerian Grant _ or was that David Nwaba? _ played power forward.
Allen Crabbe's career-high 41 points led the Nets, who sank 18 3-pointers two nights after flirting with the NBA record of 25 before settling for 24 in Saturday's victory over the Bulls. Crabbe scored 20 in the opening period as the Nets played without Joe Harris and Caris LeVert.
Sean Kilpatrick's 16 points led seven Bulls in double figures.
Lauri Markkanen had his streak of 20-point games snapped at three straight and shot just 3-for-14. But typical of his season, Markkanen fought through his shooting struggles to still post 10 points, six rebounds, two assists and two steals.
Markannen also surpassed 500 rebounds and became the first Bulls rookie since Elton Brand shared Rookie of the Year honors with Steve Francis in 1999-2000 to post at least 1,000 points and 500 boards.
Markkanen also needs just three 3-pointers in the season finale to surpass Kirk Hinrich's franchise rookie record of 144. With victories no longer the focus, that's about all that's left to shoot for in Wednesday's season finale.
