Rajon Rondo insisting Bulls haven’t ‘done anything’ in 3-0 start

NEW YORK – Don’t let Rajon Rondo know it’s the first 3-0 start for a Bulls team since the 1996-97 season.

The veteran point guard wasn’t having any of that mess following the 118-88 dismantling of the Brooklyn Nets at the Barclays Center on Monday night.

“We’re not settling on what we’ve done, we haven’t done anything but win games that we were supposed to win,’’ Rondo insisted.

Sure, the opening night win over Boston came after the Celtics had to play a back-to-back, as did the win over Indiana. And Brooklyn, well, it’s Brooklyn.

But this Bulls team isn’t just jumping on teams early and keeping them down. They have a plan, are executing it to perfection, and look like one of the elite teams in the Eastern Conference in this small sample size of just one week.

Not at all what was expected after the eye test of the preseason.

“That’s part of what the media does,’’ Rondo said of the critics surrounding this Bulls team throughout most of the training camp. “The experts that, some that have played the game, but until you’re inside this locker room and understand the way we fight for another, and how we fight each other actually in practice every day, the way we compete, it’s translating on the court.’’

In a big way.

According to Dwyane Wade, the Nets were supposed to be the “first road test.’’ They weren’t even a contest.

That was evident soon after the tip-off, as the Bulls were up 11 points just seven minutes into the game. And like they did against the Pacers, there was no letting up.

By the end of the first it was a 38-20 lead on 58 percent shooting from the field, led by Jimmy Butler and his 5-for-5 showing for 13 points.

Any hopes Brooklyn (1-3) had of grabbing back momentum on the home court in that second stanza was quickly put to rest thanks to Isaiah Canaan coming off the bench in that quarter to score 13 points.

Not that all went well before the half, with Michael Carter-Williams crumbling to the ground with 9:37 left in the second, grabbing his left knee. Coach Fred Hoiberg was hoping it was just a sprain, but the newly-acquired guard was scheduled for an MRI Tuesday.

The good news was he did eventually walk off the court on his own, but soon went to the locker room and was ruled out for the rest of the game.

Not that there was much of a game left.

“Understanding it’s a game of runs, and in this game every team is going to fight back,’’ Rondo said of the mentality the team took coming out of halftime. “We knew they would make a run and try and make some shots, and we figured out how to keep the lead above 20.’’

The Bulls outscored the Nets 28-22 in the third quarter, led by nine more from Butler, who finished with 22 points and six rebounds. Butler was one of seven Bulls players in double figures, as the ball movement was once again what Hoiberg had envisioned with last year’s squad but was never able to obtain.

“To tell you the truth I think it’s everyone’s will to win,’’ Butler said of the killer instinct this team has displayed the first week of the regular season. “We got D-Wade who knows how to win championships, Rondo who knows how to win championships, so they’re constantly on us about that where, ‘Hey, when you get up, do what you’re supposed to do, and then get your rest.’ ‘’