Deron Williams of Nets speaks to media after match at Barclay Center in New York City on Dec 25, 2013. [Photo by Zhou Pai]

The Brooklyn Nets keep falling deeper and deeper into a state of pain. After their 78-95 Christmas Day beat down at the hands of the struggling Chicago Bulls, there has been just nothing positive left to say. A 9-19 record during the holiday season wasn't exactly the plan when Mikhail Prokhorov assembled what was supposed to become a super team, one capable of using the new marquee additions to compete with the Miami Heat for Eastern Conference supremacy.

Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Jason Terry were supposed to join with Brook Lopez, Deron Williams and Joe Johnson to form a true contender, one that would become an unstoppable offensive unit also capable of shutting down the opposition on a regular basis.

"They cheer when things are good and they let you know when things aren't going good," Nets coach Jason Kidd said. "They expect good and they expect it 90 percent of the time, but right now we are 90 percent bad and so they have every right to boo and express how they feel."

Brook Lopez is out for the remainder of the season with a broken foot only adds to the misery.

"I'm even surprised with this season how it's played out," Williams said. "It's like a nightmare. The way the injuries have been and the things we talk about every day: the lack of energy, the lack of effort. I didn't see that being a problem when we put this team together."

Deron Williams scored 18 points and Mizra Teletovic added 17 for the Nets.

The Nets were again undone by a dreadful third quarter, when they were outscored 36-20, falling into a 77-58 hole.

Pierce finished with just six points on 1-of-8 shooting, Garnett made just two of seven shots for six points while Joe Johnson finished with 12 points (5-for-11).

"It's good to get guys back," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. "Our starters were very solid and our bench guys did a great job."

The Bulls were still missing Luol Deng (Achilles) and Derrick Rose, who is sidelined for the season with a right knee injury.