Paul Pierce has said that the Brooklyn Nets need to learn to defend when Kevin Garnett is not on the court.

The power forward played just 25 minutes in the team's 92-76 defeat to the Chicago Bulls last night.

Pierce told reporters: "We've got to get to the point where we're playing better defense, especially when Kevin comes out the game.

"That's seems to be one of our glaring weaknesses right now. We can sustain an acceptable level of defense when he's in the game, but he's not going to be able to play 48 minutes a night, so we have to have guys ready to come in and sustain the type of intensity he brings to help this team win.

"I think everybody needs a break right now. Everybody's played a lot of games. Every team in the league has played over 50 games. I wish the break was a little bit longer, especially for us older guys."

The Nets sit second in the Atlantic Division, and seventh in the Eastern Conference.