• Preview
• Recap
• Bleachers
• Game Tracker

Rose, Bulls rebound against Wizards

Jan 31, 2012 - 4:18 AM Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Derrick Rose had 35 points and eight assists Monday night and the Chicago Bulls beat the Washington Wizards for a seventh straight time, 98-88.

Carlos Boozer added 18 points and Kyle Korver scored 14 of his 17 points in the first half as the Bulls built a comfortable lead, then held on to avoid losing back-to-back regular season games for the first time in almost a year.

Joakim Noah filled the stat sheet in the win, getting 14 points, 13 rebounds and seven assists.

The Bulls were coming off Sunday's 97-93 loss to LeBron James and the Miami Heat. They are 1-1 on nine-game road trip that continues Wednesday in Philadelphia.

John Wall scored 20 points to lead Washington, Nick Young had 17 and JaVale McGee added 16 points with nine rebounds.

The Wizards learned earlier that forward Andray Blatche is expected to miss between three and five weeks with a strained calf.

They entered the game having won two of their previous three outings -- both victories coming against Charlotte, including their first road win of the season on Saturday. It was Washington's first 2-1 stretch of the season and a sign of positive momentum.

"They played super hard tonight," Korver said -- but the Bulls made it tough to build on that momentum.

Rose knocked down six of his first eight shots and scored 13 points in the first quarter, leading the hot-handed Bulls to a 26-16 lead at the buzzer.

Chicago shot better than 57 percent in the opening quarter and went ahead by as many as 13 points twice in the second. Korver opened the quarter with a three-pointer and Ronnie Brewer's putback midway through it gave the Bulls a 36-23 edge.

The Wizards scored seven quick points, but Chicago bounced back and held a 51-40 lead at halftime behind Rose's 16 points and 14 more from Korver.

Interim Wizards coach Randy Wittman said he felt good that his team was only down 11 after he saw they shot 31.9 percent in the first half.

"Rose just had a hell of a game," said Wittman. "He's a hell of a player. He made shots, from a man-to-man perspective, that there's nothing you can do (about)."

Washington was never closer than 10 in the third quarter while the Bulls took a game-high 22-point lead on Rose's three-pointer inside three minutes. The Wizards cut their deficit to 17 points, 76-59, entering the fourth and were within eight on Young's three with 6:51 to play.

After the Bulls pushed their lead up to 14, the Wizards climbed within eight again but there was only about a minute remaining.

Game Notes

The Bulls have won 11 of the last 13 meetings in the series. They have an NBA- best 18 wins (18-5)...The Wizards fell to 4-17...Chicago hasn't lost back-to- back regular season games since falling to Golden State and Portland on February 4 and 7, 2011.