Wizards Dominate Bulls, 102-86
WASHINGTON (AP) -- John Wall finally beat Derrick Rose head-to-head, as the Washington Wizards took a 20-point first-quarter lead and held on for a 102-86 win over the Chicago Bulls Friday night.
Wall finished with 16 points and 12 assists and had a hand in seven of Washington's final eight baskets in the first half after the Bulls had begun to rally.
The leader in All-Star votes among Eastern Conference guards snapped his 0-5 record when both he and Rose are on the court.
Marcin Gortat added 21 points and 13 rebounds for the Wizards, who have won three straight and now have a better record than the Bulls.
They beat the Bulls in five games in a contentious first-round playoff series last year. Rose missed that series while recovering from knee surgery.
Rose has been in a horrid shooting slump -- 25.5 percent over his previous six games -- and he went 8 for 19 and scored 19 points Friday night.
He shook his head emphatically -- as if to say "No Way!" -- after blocking Wall's attempt at a buzzer-beating jumper at the end of the first half. It would have carried more meaning if the Bulls weren't trailing by 17 at the time following the Wall-led run.
In the fourth quarter, with the Bulls trailing by 10 and 3 minutes to play, Rose knocked Wall hard to the floor with a high hit just as Wall was running to catch a long outlet pass -- the type of play that draws a sure-fire 15-yard penalty in the NFL these days. Officials reviewed the video and decided not to upgrade the foul to a flagrant.
Aaron Brooks added 16 points for the Bulls, who have lost back-to-back games for the first time since last November. They were thumped by 20 points at home on Wednesday by the Utah Jazz.
The Bulls missed 20 of their first 24 shots against the Wizards and trailed 30-10 before Tony Snell's 3-pointer in the final second of the first quarter. It was Chicago's worst output in an opening quarter this season.
The Bulls got as close as seven in the second quarter and were within six in the third before consecutive 3-pointers by Rasual Butler stymied the comeback.
In the fourth, a string of 3-pointers cut the deficit to eight, but Butler again answered with a pair of buckets.
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