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Deng leads balanced attack in drubbing of Wizards

Oct 17, 2007 - 3:23 AM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Luol Deng scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds to lead the Chicago Bulls to a 97-76 rout of the Washington Wizards in exhibition action on Tuesday night.

Bulls coach Scott Skiles indicated to the media earlier in the week that he wanted to keep his regulars at or around the 20-minute mark in order to keep them fresh for the regular season.

He was able to do that as nine Chicago players played at least 17 minutes but no more than 26. That time distribution led to seven Bulls scoring at least eight points.

Tuesday also marked the Chicago debut of forward Joe Smith, who is expected to fill the role of departed starter P.J. Brown after signing as a free agent in the offseason. The 12-year veteran played 13 minutes and scored seven points.

Rookie Nick Young, who left Southern California following his junior season, led the Wizards with 16 points. Andray Blatche added 14, rookie Oleksiy Pecherov netted 12 and superstar Gilbert Arenas had eight in 22 minutes for Washington.

Wizards forward Antawn Jamison left the game with a mild ankle sprain in the second quarter and did not return.