Bulls 86 - 90 Wizards
Final
  for this game

Wall leads Wizards over Bulls

Apr 3, 2013 - 4:26 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - John Wall had 27 points, nine assists and eight rebounds, as the Washington Wizards defeated the Chicago Bulls, 90-86, on Tuesday.

Wall shot 8-of-17 from the field and 11-of-13 from the foul line for the Wizards, who have won two straight. A.J. Price scored 13 points off the bench. Nene, Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor each scored 10 points, with Okafor also grabbing nine boards in the victory.

"Just to know where we came from to start the season to where we are now, we have a lot of pride in ourselves," said Wall. "We want to close the season strong. This is the most wins I've had since I've been here. It feels great."

Carlos Boozer recorded 19 points and 12 rebounds for the undermanned Bulls, who were without Derrick Rose (left knee), Joakim Noah (right foot), Marco Belinelli (abdominal strain) and Richard Hamilton (lower back).

Nate Robinson scored 17 points, Luol Deng and Jimmy Butler scored 13 points apiece and Nazr Mohammed had 12 points and 12 rebounds in the setback, Chicago's second in the last three games.

"The shooting part of it, there are going to be nights in which you don't shoot it as well as some other nights," said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. "Discipline defensively, you're in control of that. ...That's what we have to be able to count on."

Chicago started the game strong, opening the first quarter with a 10-2 run and entering the second quarter with a 24-18 lead.

Though Washington began the period with a 3-pointer by Price, it was the closest the Wizards would reach the rest of the half.

Late in the stanza, the Bulls had a nine-point advantage, 49-40, before Wall sank a pair of free throws to end the half.

Washington made its way back after the break.

In the third quarter, Wall scored 12 points and the Wizards shot 50 percent on the floor. They were also efficient from the foul line, making 9-of-10 shots.

With 3:38 to play in the frame, Okafor made a jumper to give the Wizards their first lead of the game, 65-64.

Deng converted a three-point play with 24 seconds left to retake the lead for the Bulls, but Wall sank two free throws with three seconds remaining to give the Wizards a 70-69 edge entering the fourth quarter.

The Bulls took a brief lead, 73-71, with 7:13 left in regulation, after a driving layup by Boozer. However, Ariza made a jumper with 6:49 remaining to tie the game and Price drilled a shot from beyond the arc to retake the lead 30 seconds later.

A bank shot by Mohammed tied the game at 86-86 with 56.6 seconds to go, but the Bulls attempted just two more shots afterwards, both misses.

Okafor dunked with 45.9 seconds remaining and Ariza's two free throws with eight seconds left sealed the win.

Game Notes

The Bulls recorded just one turnover in the first half ... The Wizards have won eight in a row at home, the longest since a 10-game run from Dec. 13, 2006 to Jan. 20, 2007 ... The Wizards lead the season series 2-1 with one game left to play, the regular-season finale on April 17 in Chicago. Washington is looking for its first season series victory over Chicago since the 2007-08 season.






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