Bulls lose to Nets as Rose's shooting continues to wilt

It was an interesting pregame chat with Tom Thibodeau on Tuesday.

The coach went in depth on Derrick Rose’s sinking three-point percentage — more specifically, his decision-making.

“We have to have the presence of mind to understand if it’s not going well, then we have to change it up and maybe not settle,’’ Thibodeau said.

Decision-making: The key word for the night.

Then Thibodeau watched his point guard make a lot of bad decisions. Rose shot 2-for-15 from the floor, including 0-for-5 on three-pointers, in a 96-82 loss to the Brooklyn Nets.

Rose entered the night ranked 94th in three-point shooting (27.4 percent), but he isn’t shy about launching them, taking 5.4 per game.

Rose promised that he wouldn’t change his approach.

“Terrible,’’ Rose said of his night. “At the same time, it gives me the opportunity to learn and grow. Just learn from my mistakes. Too many turnovers, careless turnovers. My shot wasn’t falling. But it’s not going to stop me from shooting. They were all open shots.’’

They were open shots Monday against the Indiana Pacers, too, but Rose went 5-for-20, including 1-for-7 from three-point range.

“Well, the game will tell you how it’s going, and oftentimes it’s coming out of the post,’’ Thibodeau said of Rose’s shots from beyond the arc. “It’s coming from people going under on the pick-and-roll, and so the most important thing is, is it the right play? Does he have the proper balance? And is he shooting the ball well?’’

In non-coachspeak, Thibodeau has seen opponents continue to go under screens set for Rose, daring him to shoot the three. He’s taking the bait, hook, line and sinker.

Several times this season, Thibodeau has publicly pleaded with Rose to “attack, attack, attack’’ rather than settle for threes.

When Rose was asked if Thibodeau reminds him of that, he said: “It’s just myself, the way that I play. If people go under [screens], I’m going to shoot the ball. I think I can shoot good enough to make them play honest. I just haven’t seen it these last couple games. There’s only one way to get out: keep shooting. My teammates have a lot of confidence in me when I shoot the ball. That’s why I kept shooting.’’

The Nets (15-16) weren’t complaining.

It looked as though it would be an easy night at the United Center after the Bulls (22-10) took a 31-24 first-quarter lead, but the wheels fell off and their winning streak ended at seven.

Rose wasn’t alone. Pau Gasol (4-for-12) and Jimmy Butler (3-for-12) had bad nights, and Aaron Brooks was ejected in the first half. If it wasn’t for Mike Dunleavy (23 points), it could have been worse.

“It’s the first game it’s been like this,’’ Rose said. “Usually it’s me by myself missing shots, everybody else making shots. Just to see the whole team miss shots is something we haven’t seen before.’’

Email: jcowley@suntimes.com

Twitter: @suntimes_hoops