Daily Bulls

The Chicago Bulls get back in the win column, snapping their three-game losing streak with a 115-111 win over the Washington Wizards. DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with team-high 27 points; 15 of his 27 points came during the fourth quarter. Zach Lavine and Nikola Vucevic each contributed 25 points each. Lavine has shot at least 40% from the field in the last four games.

 

Kristaps Porzingis led the Wizards with 28 points and nine rebounds, 16 of his 28 coming from the free throw line. Kyle Kuzma scored 21 points and five rebounds. Bradley Beal’s replacement, Gonzaga product Corey Kispert scored 10 points. Kispert did not play in the first matchup between these teams earlier this season.

Turnovers keep Washington in the game 

After the game’s first eight minutes, Chicago took an earlier 23-13 lead and looked to take care of business. But the Wizards got back in the game during the second quarter due to nine second-quarter Bulls turnovers. That led to 12 points off of those nine turnovers.

 

Turnovers hurt the Bulls even though they shot 52% during the second quarter. At the same time, Washington shot 2-for-15 from three. What became a double-digit lead turned into a three-point game at halftime, 52-49.

 

During the third quarter, a Deni Avdija Running Dunk gave the Wizards their first lead of the game, 64-63. Both teams went back and forth with five ties, and each team’s biggest lead was six during the first 12 minutes of the second half. Through the first three quarters, Chicago committed 16 turnovers, which led to 26 points on the other end for Washington.

Bulls Big 3 lift Chicago to victory

A tiny 7-2 Wizards run tied their biggest lead of the night at six, 90-84. Chicago responded quickly with a Derrick Jones Jr dunk and two DeRozan-made shots. After the Jones dunk, the big three of Lavine, DeRozan, and Vucevic scored the rest of the Bulls’ points. Zach Lavine managed to hit three threes in three straight possessions. Vucevic added another three-pointer to take a 102-101 lead.

 

After a Vucevic post-hook shot, Chicago would not give the lead back to the Wizards during the rest of the 2:50 left. During the next possession, Vucevic blocked a shot that led to a jumper by DeRozan on the other end. After Kristaps Porzingis missed a potential game-tying three, DeRozan had a three-point play to put Chicago ahead 111-105 with 1:43 left. Lavine and DeRozan hit clutch free throws with under nine seconds left to get Chicago their first win of December.

 

During the fourth quarter, DeRozan and Lavine scored 28 points combined. Vucevic got five points and two significant offensive rebounds. Chicago shot 4-for-6 from deep during the fourth quarter.  

Final Thoughts

Bulls get much needed win 

Chicago found their swag again, snapping their losing streak and getting a must needed win. The Bulls still have more work to do at 10-14 and will face a tough Dallas squad on Saturday. Winning this game will help build a winning streak. But the Mavericks will be a challenging game, but they will be playing in the second half of back-to-back games. On Friday, Dallas will face Milwaukee.

 

Wizards miss Bradley Beal 

With Bradley Beal being out due to a right hamstring injury, the Wizards couldn’t find consistency from deep, going 9-for-31 as a team. Beal will be out for another week. Washington will now have lost four straight games. The schedule does not get any easier with upcoming matchups against the Pacers on Friday and at home on Saturday against the Clippers.

Up Next

Chicago will face Dallas on Saturday.

Washington will travel to Indiana on Friday.

 

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