With one perfect deep pass, Rex Grossman just might have won back his starting quarterback job and saved the Chicago Bears‘ season.

Grossman replaced an injured Brian Griese and threw a 59-yard pass to Bernard Berrian for the go-ahead score with 3:11 remaining, leading the Bears to a 17-6 victory over the Oakland Raiders on Sunday.

“It was unbelievable, something you can’t describe to someone who hasn’t been in that position,” Grossman said. “It’s a great feeling to come in and be able to pull one out.”

Sebastian Janikowski’s 52-yard field goal with 4:04 remaining gave Oakland (2-7) a 6-3 lead that looked as if it could be enough on a day when neither offense could move the ball.

Then Grossman, who had struggled in his first game since Sept. 23, turned back into Good Rex, the quarterback who helped lead the Bears (4-5) to the Super Bowl last season instead of the one whose turnovers cost him his job earlier this season.

After the Bears almost botched the kickoff, Grossman hit Cedric Benson on an 11-yard pass over the middle.

On the next play, Berrian sprinted past Chris Carr, caught the deep pass in stride and went into the end zone with the go-ahead score.

“We were trying to get the right matchup all game, and we couldn’t get it, and then it happened,” Berrian said. “At that time of the game, we needed anything to happen, a long run or a long play.”

The Bears took advantage of man coverage by a backup cornerback forced into a starting role because of injuries to Nnamdi Asomugha and Fabian Washington. Carr was solid for almost the entire game, with six tackles and one pass breakup, but got beat on the one play that mattered most.

“They did a very good job of selling me on the go route,” Carr said. “He gave me a little hesitation and I wasn’t running as fast as I should have been running. He got a step on me. Once he got a step on me, he got me.”

Grossman, who had been 5-for-12 for 72 yards before the winning drive, leaped into teammate John Tait’s arms and flashed a smile that hadn’t been seen in a long while.

Grossman was benched after throwing six interceptions and only one touchdown pass in Chicago’s first three games. Combined with his 23 interceptions in 19 games last season, the Bears had grown tired of all of Grossman’s mistakes and decided to go with the veteran Griese.

The move back to Grossman didn’t look like it would pay off when he fumbled the first center exchange with Olin Kreutz. He did little positive other than the one big pass to Berrian, finishing 7-for-14 for 142 yards. But most importantly, he had no turnovers.

“I hope people appreciate that Rex hasn’t shut it down,” Kreutz said. “He hasn’t moped around our building. He’s kept himself prepared and ready to play. I hope it shows a lot of people what everybody on this team already knew about Rex. He’s still a professional, and he’s still going to be ready to win.”

The Bears won in their first game after the bye, but still have plenty more to do if they want to make it back to the playoffs. It just might be Grossman who has to take them there. Griese’s shoulder injury is not believed to be serious, but coach Lovie Smith said he wanted to savor this win before making any decisions about the quarterback next week.

The Raiders went three-and-out on their next drive after Grossman’s TD pass.

After a Chicago punt, Adewale Ogunleye then forced a fumble by Josh McCown that Israel Idonije recovered at the 3 with 1:39 remaining. Benson ran it in on the next play to seal the victory. Benson finished with 76 yards on 29 carries.

McCown was booed during pregame introductions by the fans eager for top pick JaMarcus Russell to play. McCown didn’t silence the critics, going 1-for-13 in a stretch that began late in the first half and ended after Benson’s touchdown put the game away.

“Obviously the kid’s here for a reason and they picked him No. 1 for a reason,” McCown said. “At some point, he’s going to have to play. Obviously for us we hope that’s not this year because we want to get on a roll here and start winning some ballgames.”

Justin Fargas ran for 81 yards on 23 carries in his second straight start, but also lost a key fumble in the second half. Oakland finished with a season-low 193 yards of offense and lost its fifth straight game.

Raiders coach Lane Kiffin backed up his bold talk during the week and did kick the ball to Chicago’s dangerous returner Devin Hester almost every time. Despite getting more chances that usual to add to his nine return touchdowns in less than two seasons, Hester found little room to run against Oakland’s coverage units.

He returned one kickoff from 8 yards deep in the end zone and only managed to make it out to the 11. He also twice lost 4 yards on punt returns. Hester’s one big play, a 64-yard punt return, was wiped out by a holding call on Brendon Ayanbadejo.

“I did get frustrated a couple of times, but you just have to stay patient and know your opportunities are going to happen,” Hester said.

After watching most teams kick the ball away from Devin Hester all season, Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was a little surprised to hear that Oakland Raiders coach Lane Kiffin planned to challenge the NFL’s best returner.

“Serious? Punts and kickoffs? It will be fun then,” Urlacher said Wednesday on a conference call with Bay Area reporters. “I can’t wait to watch. The last few games he hasn’t gotten many opportunities but when he does, he definitely takes advantage of them. So, I’m excited to hear that, it should give us a little boost there.”

Most teams do whatever they can to keep the ball away from Hester, who has nine returns for touchdowns in less than two full seasons in the NFL. Hester is so dangerous at returning kicks and punts that teams often prefer to kick the ball out of bounds just to keep him from having a chance at pulling off another highlight-reel return.

Kiffin said “it’s no fun to kick out of bounds,” and he wanted to test his special teams on Sunday against a player he called perhaps the best punt returner ever to play the game.

Whether that’s just pregame bluster or his actual strategy won’t be known until Sunday.

“We would definitely welcome that philosophy,” Chicago coach Lovie Smith said. “Does he mean it? Most teams haven’t kicked to him. I can understand why you’ll get a guy that would say, ‘Hey, he puts on his shoes just like everyone else. We’re going to kick the ball to him. We don’t like what’s happened so far. We need to change the tempo.’ If I was on the other side of the field, I would kick the ball to Devin Hester.”

That’s easy for Smith to say. He doesn’t have to defend Hester.

Oakland struggled early stopping returns, but has improved in recent weeks now that Isaiah Ekejiuba is healthy and Jarrod Cooper is back from a suspension. Now they get their stiffest test yet and they’re happy about the confidence their coach is showing in the coverage units.

“I’m glad because I would have been mad at him if he would have said, ‘Hey, I don’t think you guys could do it. I’m not kicking it to him,”‘ Cooper said. “We respect Devin Hester just like everyone else does but you don’t turn your whole game plan upside down. You don’t play somebody scared. You respect them but you don’t play them scared.”

Hester’s nine special teams return touchdowns are already tied for fourth most in NFL history, trailing Brian Mitchell (13), Dante Hall and Eric Metcalf (12 each). That doesn’t even count his kickoff return to open the Super Bowl against Indianapolis last season.

His 19.6-yard punt return average this season would be the highest in the NFL since Jack Christiansen averaged 21.5 yards per return in 1952 for Detroit.

One thing that makes Hester so successful, according to Cooper, is that opposing teams are so worried about avoiding the big play that they sometimes are too tentative on their coverage. With a player with the speed and vision like Hester’s, that makes him almost impossible to stop.

“I watched tape after tape and people were breaking down, not taking shots,” Cooper said. “All you’re doing is helping him out. Like I said, I have mad respect for him as a player but we have to attack him like anybody else. … If you hesitate for a minute, you’re going to be watching him and getting his autograph after the game.”

Hester impacts the game whether teams kick to him or not. The Bears’ average start after kickoffs is the 32-yard line, third best in the NFL. The Raiders are in the middle of the pack on kick coverage, ranking 13th in the league by allowing teams to start at the 26.

One thing the Raiders do have is a kicker who can reach the end zone easily. Sebastian Janikowski has sent 23 of his 35 kickoffs into the end zone, with a league-leading 18 being downed for touchbacks. The Bears have received only five kicks all season in the end zone, with just one going for a touchback.

“If he’s going to bring it out, he’s going to bring it out,” Janikowski said. “We’ll see what happens. We’ve got a good coverage team.”

The impact on punts is even more dramatic.

Opponents are averaging a league-low 30.5 net yards per punt against Chicago even though Hester has only gotten the chance to return 22 of 46 punts. There have been four touchbacks and four fair catches, while 15 punts have either gone out of bounds or been so far away from Hester that the opposing team has downed them before he could get to them.

“They either kick it to him, kick it out of bounds, they kick it to one of the up backs, or the punter kicks it out of bounds,” Urlacher said. “When they kick it to him, he usually gets a good return, so it’s kind of like pick your poison with him. He’s just amazing, He’s explosive. He catches the ball good. It kind of makes you mad sometimes, he doesn’t start out very fast, he kinds of weaves his way through, but when he turns it on, he goes

Jimmy Clausen is back as Notre Dame’s starting quarterback.

The freshman, who lost his starting job after struggling against Boston College on Oct. 13, will start Saturday against Air Force. Evan Sharpley had started the past two games, a 38-0 loss to USC and a 46-44 loss in triple overtime to Navy.

Brian Hardin, director of football media relations, announced the decision after practice Wednesday. Coach Charlie Weis, who usually meets with the media on Wednesdays, was not available for comment. Hardin said Weis would talk about his decision after practice Thursday.

Clausen has a better completion percentage than Sharpley, but Sharpley has been more productive. Clausen has completed 81 of 141 passes, a 57.4 completion rate, for 618 yards with five interceptions and one touchdown pass. Sharpley has completed 77 of 140 passes, a 55 percent completion rate, for 736 yards with three interceptions and five touchdowns.

Weis indicated after Notre Dame lost to Navy to fall to 1-8 that Sharpley would likely start again against Air Force. But after reviewing game film Sunday, Weis said he was undecided. On Tuesday he said whoever looked better at practice this week would start.

Weis said at the time he named Sharpley the starter for the USC game that he was doing so because Sharpley was steadily improving and because Clausen, who had been sacked 23 times, was banged up. He said Tuesday that Clausen was getting healthier.

Sharpley was 34-of-60 passing for 257 yards with one interception and two touchdown passes in his two starts. He was sacked nine times.

Clausen was rated by some as the top high school player last year. He became the first Notre Dame quarterback in at least 56 years to start his second game as a freshman, then started the next six. He did not play against USC or Navy.

Weis has said part of the reason Clausen has struggled is because he’s had trouble adjusting to the speed of the game.

Cuttino Mobley showed Kirk Hinrich and the Chicago Bulls that he’s ready to play physical again.

Mobley scored 33 points and Corey Maggette added 18 points, 10 rebounds and five assists to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 97-91 win over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday night.

“I told the referees the first game, I’ve told y’all, I’ll tell everyone I’m going back to my first five years,” said Mobley. “I’m just going back to my old aggressive self. I’m only 32.”

Mobley was 10-for-10 from the floor in the first half. He used his size advantage against Kirk Hinrich to create room for his jumper.

“It’s tough,” said Hinrich. “When I got off a good jump to challenge a shot I felt like I would make him miss, but a lot of times, down the stretch he would bang me and knock me back and I couldn’t get the lift to challenge his shot the way I wanted to.”

The Clippers improved to 3-0 despite missing Elton Brand and Shaun Livingston with injuries. The Bulls are 0-4 to start the season for the first time since 2004-05.

“We need to stick with it as a team,” said Luol Deng, who scored 22 points for Chicago. “We’re not finishing game and I know the fans are disappointed, but we’ll keep battling and get better. Coach (Scott) Skiles’ message is to keep battling and get better.”

Trailing 89-85 with 4:08 left, Ben Wallace was called for goaltending on a shot by Mobley and Chris Kaman blocked Ben Gordon’s layup attempt that led to Maggette’s dunk to tie the game. Then Maggette followed with a 3-pointer to break the tie and gave the Clippers a 92-89 lead with 2:12 left.

Tim Thomas, waived by the Bulls two seasons ago, saved the ball after a Clippers miss which led to Mobley’s jumper that gave the Clippers 94-89 lead with 1:20 left. Thomas finished with nine points and nine rebounds.

Kaman had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Clippers.

Joe Smith scored 17 for the Bulls, who fought back from a 13-point deficit and tied it late in the third quarter on Gordon’s free throw after Mobley was issued a technical for arguing a no-call.

The Bulls held the Clippers to 27.3 percent shooting in the period after Los Angeles shot 60 percent in the second quarter. They also denied Mobley the ball and held him to two points on 0-for-3 shooting from the floor.

The Clippers broke a 31-all tie in the second quarter with a 13-0 run. Mobley scored eight points during the span. He hit a 3 to break the tie and hit another 3 over Kirk Hinrich to make it 42-31. Ruben Patterson’s putback gave the Clippers a 44-31 advantage with 7:33 left in the second quarter.

“We couldn’t stop him (Mobley) tonight. He had one of those nights where he made everything,” said Deng.

The Clippers shot 59.5 percent in the half and converted 7-of-11 3-point attempts and led 57-52.

The frustration continues for the Bulls, who came into the season with high expectations. Ben Wallace missed an open layup in transition in the second quarter that led to Sam Cassell’s jumper.

Bulls general manager John Paxson put to rest the Kobe Bryant trade rumors less than a week ago, but some fans continue to chant “Kobe! Kobe! Kobe!” in the final minutes.

The opening week of the season hardly went the way the Chicago Bulls thought it would. The Los Angeles Clippers were hoping to get off to the start they’ve enjoyed.

The two teams heading in opposite directions meet Tuesday night at the United Center.

Chicago came into 2007-08 with high hopes after going 49-33 and reaching the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs last season, but the Bulls are looking to avoid starting 0-4 for the first time since 2004-05.

Chicago has looked anything like a team that many thought would contend for the East title. The Bulls rank near the bottom of league in points per game (86.7) and field-goal percentage (37.8), and are coming off a lackluster 78-72 loss at Milwaukee on Saturday.

Chicago posted its lowest point total since a 103-70 defeat at Miami on March 7 - a span of 22 games.

“It is tough,” forward Luol Deng said. “It’s something we didn’t expect. Now that we’re here, we’ve got to find a way to get out of it.”

The Bulls shot 35.1 percent from the field, 23.8 percent (5-for-21) from 3-point-range and committed 19 turnovers against the Bucks. The defeat came one night after a 96-85 defeat at home to Philadelphia, another of the league’s worst teams last season.

Ben Gordon paced the Bulls with 15 points, but Chicago’s other starters combined for 21 points on 10-for-34 shooting.

“We just don’t look like we’re real confident right now, and it shouldn’t be that way at this level,” coach Scott Skiles said.

Veteran reserve forward Joe Smith had 14 points and 10 rebounds for Chicago on Saturday. Smith had one fewer rebound against the Bucks than starter Ben Wallace has through three games.

Wallace, however, doesn’t seem worried about the team’s early struggles.

“We’ve just got to play through it, that’s all,” said Wallace, who had 19 points and 16 boards in Chicago’s 103-89 home loss to Los Angeles on March 20 in the teams’ most recent meeting.

Chicago won’t have it easy against the Clippers (2-0), who have started strong despite the loss of star forward Elton Brand to an Achilles’ tendon injury for an indefinite period of time. Los Angeles is trying to open 3-0 for the second time in three seasons and seeks a fourth straight victory over the Bulls.

Though Brand paced Los Angeles in both victories over Chicago in 2006-07, the Clippers have managed to get by without him so far. Los Angeles, however, will be playing its first game on the road, where it went 15-26 last season.

Corey Maggette had 27 points and Chris Kaman added 10 points and 15 rebounds in Los Angeles’ 115-101 victory over Seattle on Sunday. Six Clippers scored in double figures for a club that hopes to improve offensively after averaging only 95.6 points last season.

“We’re capable of playing an up-tempo game. We just want to establish it to play the right way and win ballgames,” said Maggette, a Chicago-area native who’s averaging 21.5 points and 6.5 rebounds. “We need to get the ball to open guys and make some shots. And we’ve been doing that the past couple of games.”

Maggette had 22 points in the March victory over the Bulls. Kaman, meanwhile, averaged 18.0 points and 16.5 rebounds in the season’s first two games.

The Milwaukee Bucks haven’t exactly fixed their defense, but they didn’t have to against a Chicago Bulls team that’s looking lost on offense.

Michael Redd scored 27 points and rookie Yi Jianlian added 16 in his strongest performance yet to help the Bucks beat the Bulls 78-72 Saturday night for their first victory of the season.

Milwaukee snapped a 15-game losing streak to Central Division opponents dating back nearly a year, and kept Chicago winless through the first week of the season.

Hounded by defensive lapses in their first two games, the Bucks held the Bulls in check on a miserable night for Chicago’s starters. Ben Gordon scored 15, but the rest of the starting five — Luol Deng, Tyrus Thomas, Ben Wallace and Kirk Hinrich — were held to single digits.

“It’s important for us to take a little bit of this and bottle it up,” Bucks coach Larry Krystkowiak said. “Because if we play with that kind of focus and energy on the defensive (end) consistently, then we’ll have an opportunity to make some strides.”

But Bulls coach Scott Skiles saw plenty of open shots available to his players. They just didn’t knock many of them down.

“We just don’t look like we’re real confident right now, and it shouldn’t be that way at this level,” Skiles said.

Shot after open shot clanked off the rim for the Bulls. Deng was 4-for-11 from the floor, Hinrich 3-for-12. Hinrich described the offense as “helter-skelter” and said the Bulls simply don’t have any composure.

And, so far, they don’t have a win through their first three games.

“It is tough,” Deng said. “It’s something we didn’t expect. Now that we’re here, we’ve got to find a way to get out of it.”

Redd led the Bucks in scoring, but Yi’s good first impression on his new hometown fans stood out the most.

“He took the challenge and made some huge shots and became a playmaker,” said Redd, who bowed with his hands together in a salute to Yi just before the opening tip. “I’m proud of his development. He’s growing.”

Yi played a key role in keeping Milwaukee in the game in the second half.

His jumper tied the game at 37 with 7:39 left in the third quarter. Milwaukee’s Dan Gadzuric blocked the Bulls’ Thomas on the other end, and Bucks guard Mo Williams found Yi with a pass for another long rainbow jumper that put the Bucks ahead 39-37.

With Milwaukee trailing by two later in the quarter, Yi blocked a shot by Thomas and Redd hit a jumper to tie the game at 43.

“There’s been an awful lot of focus on this young man, and the whole process is a marathon,” Krystkowiak said. “This is big for his confidence. … It’s only one game, but I’m really proud of him.”

Speaking with only occasional help from an interpreter, the Chinese star said he recognized the importance of the Bucks’ home opener.

“This game for our team was very important,” Yi said. “First home game, opening game and we lost two in a row, so we’ve got to win.”

The Bucks began the season by losing their first two games on the road, at Orlando on Wednesday and at Charlotte on Friday. They allowed too many open shots to the Magic, and couldn’t stop the Bobcats from driving to the rim.

Chicago also opened the season with a pair of losses, at New Jersey on Wednesday and at home to Philadelphia on Friday.

The Bulls might have been distracted by a swarm of trade rumors involving a potential deal with the Los Angeles Lakers that would have brought Kobe Bryant to Chicago. But Bulls general manager John Paxson declared on Thursday that no deal was imminent, scuttling trade talk at least for the time being.

Wallace said he wasn’t surprised by the 0-3 start, because the Bulls had chances to win each game and didn’t take advantage of their opportunities.

“We’ve just got to play through it, that’s all,” he said.

Kobe Bryant won’t be joining the Chicago Bulls anytime soon.

General manager John Paxson basically squashed the notion that the Los Angeles Lakers‘ superstar will wind up in Chicago, saying the teams were never on the verge of a deal and talks were over for now.

“There’s not a deal done,” he said Thursday. “There’s not going to be a deal done. All the things that were out there were really unfair to all of us who were trying to do our jobs. The misinformation … I think gets in the way of the process. It’s just such a complicated thing and we kind of put it to rest now.”

Paxson said they discussed “parameters,” but the sides “never got down to the nuts and bolts of it because there was never a deal to be done.”

“That’s the reality of it,” he said. “People can make what they want of it, but what I know is that part of it is over with.”

Paxson’s comments came a day after a flurry of rumors. Speculation picked up Wednesday, with one report saying the Bulls, Sacramento Kings and Lakers were discussing a three-way deal that would bring the superstar to Chicago.

That scenario had Paxson sending Ben Gordon and a signed-and-traded P.J. Brown to Sacramento, with Chicago’s Ben Wallace and the Kings’ Ron Artest heading to Los Angeles. Paxson dismissed the rumor, saying a deal involving Brown would send the Bulls over the luxury tax threshold — something they’re reluctant to do.

Bryant, speaking before news of Paxson’s comments reached the Lakers’ El Segundo, Calif., practice facility, said he is monitoring the rumors “just to keep tabs on how my teammates are reacting to it.”

“We’ve been doing a pretty good job of staying focused,” he said. “I’ve talked to them. From that standpoint, I don’t think it’s that difficult. If you didn’t speak to them or kind of fill them in, it would get a little confusing.”

Bryant drew some boos during introductions before the Lakers’ season-opening 95-93 loss to Houston on Tuesday, after calling the front office a mess and asking to be traded during the offseason. The jeers turned to cheers as Bryant scored 18 of his 45 points in the fourth quarter to lead a comeback.

The trade deadline isn’t until February, so it’s possible talks between the Lakers and Bulls could resume.

“Who knows?” Paxson said. “The reality is that right now, it’s done.”

Paxson was concerned the issue would become a distraction, so he decided to put it to rest.

“I think today sends a message that our guys don’t have to worry about anything right now,” Paxson said.

Then again, coach Scott Skiles wondered: “What’s resolving anything in all sports until the trading deadline?”

“Just because this rumor at some point dies down, does that mean another one’s not going to crop up in two weeks?” he asked. “It’s ongoing, it’s all the time. Now, this is one that involves a very, very high profile player, so I understand the extra attention on it.”

With the rumors swirling, Chicago played a flat first half and was just as bad at the end in losing the season opener 112-103 at New Jersey on Wednesday. Just about every Bull’s name has surfaced in rumors, and Luol Deng acknowledged the Kobe questions are wearing on him.

“I am,” he said when asked if he’s annoyed by them. “But you guys want to get to the bottom of it so I’ve just got to keep answering your questions.”

Several issues stand in the way of a Bryant deal.

Bryant has a no-trade clause and can opt out in the summer 2009, although he has said he wouldn’t mind playing in Chicago. Paxson does not want to gut his roster or part with Deng, who appeared to be on the verge of stardom last season.

Would Bryant want to go to a Bulls team without Deng?

And if there’s no deal with Chicago, where does that leave the Lakers?

“Maybe having our cake and eating it, too,” said coach Phil Jackson, speaking after word of Paxson’s comments had reached the Lakers’ facility. “Dr. (Jerry) Buss reiterated many, many times that we do not want to trade Kobe Bryant but we’ll listen to any comments that come our way that would give us equal parity for him.”

Paxson and Bulls chairman Jerry Reinsdorf met with Bryant when he was a free agent in 2004. He wound up re-signing with the Lakers for seven years and $136.4 million, with that opt-out clause.

“He liked what he heard,” Paxson said. “For that reason, he likes the Chicago Bulls, which is obviously flattering.”

But he apparently won’t be joining them in the near future.

The Bulls struggled at times in the season opener, the possible victims of rumors of a major trade with the Lakers for Kobe Bryant.

Ben Gordon had 27 points and Luol Deng added 22 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who rallied from a 17-point second-half deficit to force the overtime.

“There’s never a deadline when it comes to trades,” Deng said. “I guess I have to learn to expect that for the rest of my career. There’s always someone who wants you. I didn’t think it really bothered us.”

Wright gave the Nets a 99-96 lead with a 3-pointer from the left corner less than a minute into the overtime.

Andres Nocioni, whose 3-pointer with 40 seconds to play tied the game at 96, got Chicago within a point with a jumper.

The teams traded two baskets apiece over the next three minutes with Ben Wallace getting Chicago within 103-102 with a dunk on a nice pass from Kirk Hinrich with 1:38 to play.

Jefferson then hit a floater and Carter, who was a woeful 6-of-21 from the field, stole a weak pass by Wallace near the foul line.

Jefferson nailed a 3-pointer with 37 seconds to play to push the Nets’ lead to 108-102 and he blocked a shot to end the Bulls’ chances.

Chicago rallied from a seven-point deficit over the final 1:31 to force the overtime. The Bulls even had a chance to win in regulation after Carter threw up the Nets’ third straight air ball with just under 20 seconds to play.

Gordon took the inbound pass and held the ball. He eventually was forced out on the right wing and got off a bad shot.

Hinrich, who finished with 14 points on a foul-plagued night, hit a floater to get the Bulls within 96-91 with 1:31 to go.

After Carter threw up an air ball from the right corner, Deng put in the rebound of a miss by Gordon to cut the lead to three points.

It was Kidd’s turn to hit air on the Nets’ next possession. Nocioni tied the game with a 3-pointer with 40 seconds to go.

Until the rally, Wright was going to be the hero. He hit two 3-pointers around two baskets by Carter and two free throws by Jefferson in a 12-2 spurt that gave New Jersey a 96-89 lead with 2:02 to play in regulation.

The Nets hit 37 of 41 free throws in the game, while Chicago was 19-of-26. Jefferson hit all 12 of his attempts from the line.

“It was definitely a good effort, but we just waited too long to turn it on for some reason,” Gordon said. “We have to be more consistent. We should have had more energy to come out on opening night. There’s no excuse for that.”

The Kobe Bryant saga produced another flurry of rumors in Chicago Wednesday. Chicago Bulls GM John Paxson is expected to address the Bryant-Bulls rumors today.

According to the Chicago Tribune, one report had Ben Gordon and a signed-and-traded P.J. Brown moving to the Sacramento Kings, with Ron Artest and Ben Wallace going to the Los Angeles Lakers and Bryant coming to Chicago. The Bulls and Kings did talk last week, but the dialogue didn’t progress far and now has little momentum.

The Tribune reported Paxson continued to explore ways to land Bryant. But as has been mentioned frequently, he won’t gut his roster to do so, and he doesn’t want to part with Deng.