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Wizards look for first road win against streaking Bulls

Dec 2, 2006 - 5:10 PM Washington (6-9) at Chicago (6-9) 8:30 pm EST

CHICAGO (Ticker) - The Washington Wizards are unrecognizable when they travel away from the Verizon Center. So is Gilbert Arenas.

The Wizards hope to avoid a franchise-record eighth straight road loss to start the season when they travel to the Windy City to take on the Chicago Bulls.

Washington is 0-7 on the road and they cannot seem to get star guard Gilbert Arenas to perform like he does in front of the home crowd. Arenas is shooting a putrid 28 percent from the field on the road and is averaging just 18.7 points per game. The All-Star is netting 33.1 points per game and shooting 48 percent from the floor on his home court.

As a result, the Wizards are scoring 100.1 points per game at home but just 87.4 away from the Verizon Center.

On Friday, Arenas had 33 points and 10 assists to lead five players in double figures as the Wizards notched a 121-109 triumph over the Charlotte Bobcats in a home contest. Washington is a sharp 6-2 at home, where Arenas has three 40-point games.

After suffering a six-game losing streak, the Bulls are starting to turn it around. On Saturday, they will go for their season-high fourth straight victory. Andres Nocioni had career highs of 31 points and 13 rebounds as Chicago held on for its third straight win, a 111-108 victory over the slumping New Orleans Hornets on Friday.

The Bulls won three of four contests against the Wizards last campaign.