Wizards End Bulls' Winning Streak
CHICAGO (AP) — John Wall and Nene had 19 points apiece, Trevor Ariza scored 16 and the Washington Wizards beat the Chicago Bulls 102-88 on Monday night.
The Wizards led by 13 early in the fourth quarter and hung on after Chicago made one final push, snapping the Bulls' five-game win streak.
Nene scored eight points in the final period and Bradley Beal came on strong down the stretch to finish with 13. He hit a jumper and 3-pointer during a nine-point run that bumped Washington's lead to 96-82 with about 3 minutes left after Chicago pulled within five.
Wall scored four points during that spurt and had seven assists in the game.
Ariza hit a trio of 3-pointers and the Wizards came away with the win after dropping five of seven.
Carlos Boozer scored 19 for Chicago and Joakim Noah grabbed 16 rebounds, but with a chance to reach .500 for the first time since November, the Bulls came up short. They also lost for the first time since trading Luol Deng to Cleveland last week, after winning three without him.
Washington had no trouble getting inside in the early going and shot 59 percent while building a 56-43 halftime lead.
The Bulls jumped right back into it to start the third quarter, tightening their defense while scoring the first eight points.
Boozer capped it with a finger roll after Beal missed an easy layup, making it a five-point game.
The Bulls were within four when Trevor Booker scored and Ariza and Martell Webster hit consecutive 3-pointers to push Washington's lead back to double digits at 73-61 with 2:49 left in the third.
With Chicago offering little resistance, the Wizards had no trouble converting early on.
They opened the game on an 8-0 run that Marcin Gortat punctuated with a hard, running dunk on Boozer and were up 36-21 early in the second after back-to-back jumpers by Beal.
Ariza hit a pair of 3-pointers and scored 11 in the first half. Wall added 10 points, including a driving layup and two free throws in the final 31 seconds of the second quarter.
NOTES: Chicago star Derrick Rose is off crutches and could start traveling with the team in the coming weeks. The 2011 NBA MVP tore the meniscus in his right knee at Portland in November and was ruled out for the remainder of the season by the Bulls. He sat out last season while recovering from surgery to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee. ... Chicago's Nazr Mohammed sprained his left middle finger in the first half. ... The Bulls have won nine of their past 11 home games against Washington.
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