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Boozer, Bulls stay hot with victory over Wizards

Dec 23, 2010 - 6:58 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Carlos Boozer rounded out his big night with a key basket in the final minute, and led the streaking Chicago Bulls to an 87-80 victory over the Washington Wizards.

Boozer finished with 30 points, 10 rebounds and seven assists for the Bulls, who have won two in a row and nine of 10. The only loss during that stretch was last Saturday's 100-99 setback to the Clippers.

Derrick Rose ended with 25 points, but shot only 9-of-21 and missed all six of his three-point attempts.

Nick Young scored 22 points to lead the Wizards, who were coming off Monday's win against Charlotte but lost for the eighth time in their last nine games. Kirk Hinrich provided 19 points and nine assists for Washington.

Forward Rashard Lewis, acquired from Orlando over the weekend, made his debut for the Wizards and finished with eight points in 22 1/2 minutes. He went 0- for-5 from three-point range. Lewis said it was hard getting acclimated in his first game with his new team.

"Good thing we've got a couple days off, we don't play until the 26th," Lewis said. "So I can kind of look over the plays and learn everything for the next couple days."

Chicago held control early in a low-scoring fourth quarter, but the Wizards rallied and were within 83-80 when Andray Blatche made 1-of-2 free throws with 2:03 remaining.

After a Bulls turnover, Lewis had a chance to tie the game but missed his attempt from beyond the arc. Rose missed at the other end, and Hinrich lost the ball out of bounds just inside the final minute.

That gave Chicago another chance to take a critical two-possession lead and Boozer delivered. With Lewis' arms wrapped around his waist, Boozer powered into the lane and sank a short bucket. He missed the free throw, however, keeping the Bulls' lead at 85-80 with 35.2 seconds to play.

Young fired a three-pointer quickly into Washington's next possession but missed. At the other end, Luol Deng got behind the Wizards' defense for a dunk to secure the victory with 22.8 ticks left on the clock.

"It was a very herky-jerky fourth quarter, but I thought we did a good job defensively," Boozer said. "We only gave them 10 points, and that's the reason why we won the game."

Young scored 10 points in the first quarter to help Washington grab a 33-29 lead, and the Wizards held a 50-46 edge going into the break.

The Bulls battled back in the third quarter, making 8-of-16 shots in order to take a 73-70 lead to the fourth. Boozer hit a turnaround jumper about two minutes into the final period to give Chicago an 81-73 advantage.

Game Notes

Deng scored 14 points for Chicago, which had 21 turnovers and made only 2- of-16 three-pointers...Washington shot 38 percent...Both teams were without key players. Chicago played without center Joakim Noah, who underwent thumb surgery and is expected to miss about two months. The Wizards were without rookie guard John Wall, who missed a fifth consecutive game with a bone bruise.