Doug McDermott scored 25 points and Jimmy Butler added 22 to help the Bulls beat the Nets 118-102 on Thursday night.
It's the third straight 20-plus point game for McDermott as Chicago moved a half-game in front of idle Detroit into eighth place and the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Bobby Portis added 12 points and 14 rebounds.
The injury-ravaged Bulls raced to a 24-point lead in the second quarter, then held on and finally finished off the lowly Nets, who outscored Chicago 37-24 in the third and closed to within four points early in the fourth.
Chicago got a season-high 60 points from its reserves, including McDermott's output.
Bojan Bogdanovic led the Nets comeback with 26 points one game after scoring career-high 44 points in Brooklyn's 131-114 victory over league-worst Philadelphia on Tuesday night.
