John Wall's 29-12-10 Lead Wizards Past Bulls, 117-96
WASHINGTON (AP) — Finally playing as if their chance at a playoff berth was on the line, which it is, the Washington Wizards picked up their second consecutive lopsided victory over a team just ahead of them in the standings, beating Derrick Rose's Chicago Bulls 117-96 behind John Wall's triple-double Wednesday night.
Wall, an All-Star point guard, produced 29 points, 12 assists and 10 rebounds, outplaying Rose, who returned after missing two games with a strained left groin and finished with 16 points and four assists.
Wall received plenty of help, including 20 points from Bradley Beal and 15 from reserve Garrett Temple, all in the first half, when he shot 5 for 5 on 3-pointers.
Chicago's Taj Gibson played only 8 minutes and had three points.
In their previous outing, on Monday, the Wizards beat the visiting Detroit Pistons by 43 points, ending a five-game losing streak. Entering Wednesday, Washington was in 10th place in the East, trailing both Chicago and Detroit by 2 1/2 games for the eighth and final postseason spot in the conference.
The Wizards, especially Wall, came back out playing well, and led by as much as 30-16 in the first quarter, until an 18-2 run by the Bulls put them ahead 34-32 early in the second.
At halftime, the Wizards were up 63-52, thanks in large part to Temple. To that point, the Wizards' other bench players who appeared in the game — Marcin Gortat, Jared Dudley, Ramon Sessions, Marcus Thornton and J.J. Hickson — had combined for zero points on 0-for-11 shooting.
Rose had 14 points in 16 minutes in the first half. He produced a handful of drives that showed his first-step burst is back, including one up-and-under thing of beauty in the second quarter that left the crowd oohing and aahing. But he shot just 1 for 8 in the second half.
Gortat was listed as a starter but was replaced at the last minute by Nene. The Wizards listed Gortat as "doubtful" to play because of lower back pain — and he eventually checked in during the second quarter. He wound up with nine points in 18 minutes.
METRO DOWN
The stands were less than half full at tipoff, which could have been at least in part a result of the 29-hour safety shutdown of subways in the nation's capital. Metro trains were stopped for a system-wide inspection after an electrical fire.
CYCLONE WATCH
A year ago, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg was in charge of Iowa State, which lost its opening game of the NCAA Tournament to UAB. This time, he'll be keeping an eye on the Cyclones, who are a No. 4 seed in the Midwest Region and face No. 13 seed Iona on Thursday in Denver. "I'm excited for the opportunity for those guys. Obviously, I have very close relationships with those players and hope they can go on a great run," Hoiberg said. "If they do, if they get by these first two games, they'll be in Chicago for the Sweet 16 game, so really hoping that happens."
TIP-INS
Bulls: Have lost nine of 10 on the road. ... Doug McDermott led Chicago with 20 points.
Wizards: F Alan Anderson sat out. ... Have won seven of past eight home games. ... Are 10-6 against teams from Chicago's Central Division; only the Charlotte Hornets, with 11, owned more victories entering Wednesday.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Host the Brooklyn Nets on Thursday.
Wizards: At the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.
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