CHICAGO (AP)—Even a shortage of big men couldn’t slow the Bulls’ march to
the top of the Eastern Conference.
Derrick Rose(notes) scored 23 points in Chicago’s seventh straight win, a 98-79
victory over the Washington Wizards on Tuesday night that moved the Bulls into
sole possession of first place in the East.
Luol Deng(notes) added 20 points and Keith Bogans(notes) scored 17, his highest total
since joining the Bulls. Bogans took all of his 10 shots from behind the 3-point
arc, hitting a season-high five.
“We’ve got a great team,” said Bogans. “The guys know when a player goes
down, somebody else has to step up.”
Bogans has been the target of criticism, mostly because his scoring average
(4.1) is low for a starting shooting guard. While Tuesday’s game might quiet
some of that commentary, Bogans says it doesn’t matter.
“It doesn’t frustrate me at all,” said Bogans. “(As long as) I’m being
talked about.”
The Bulls (48-18) moved a half-game ahead of the Boston Celtics. Chicago has
not held the East’s top spot this late in the season since 1997-98, the season
the Bulls won their sixth NBA championship.
“What’s happening right now is everyone is talking about us,” Deng said.
“Human nature is that it’s easy for us to fall into that trap of thinking we’re
going to walk out there and win. That’s not the case. We have a lot of work to
do.”
If two teams finish tied, the first tiebreaker is based on head-to-head
results. The Celtics have won two of three against Chicago this season, but the
teams play once more, at the United Center on April 7.
Washington center JaVale McGee(notes) had a rare triple-double with 11 points, 12
rebounds and 12 blocks, the most by an NBA player since Toronto’s Keon Clark had
12 on March 23, 2001.
“I had three (blocks) the first quarter and I was trying to match that in
the second quarter and I had seven, so I was like I’m going to try and get 14,”
McGee said. “It was working for me tonight. I was blocking so good in the first
half people were starting to hesitate and were more afraid to go up and it was
easier to block shots.”
The Bulls jumped to a 31-19 lead in the first quarter with little resistance
from the Wizards, who fell to 1-30 on the road. Chicago outrebounded Washington
17-5 in the opening period despite the absences of center Joakim Noah(notes) and power
forward Carlos Boozer(notes).
Rookie Jordan Crawford(notes) scored 27 points and played all 48 minutes for the
Wizards, who have lost five straight and 12 of 13.
“In the NBA it can be a 360, and the next day you never know what can
happen,” said Crawford, who was recently traded to Washington from Atlanta,
where he wasn’t getting much court time. “Luckily I was ready. I want to feed
off this game and keep going.”
McGee fell just short of the franchise record for blocks in a game. Manute
Bol swatted 15 shots for the then-Bullets on Feb. 26, 1987. It was the most
blocks a player has had against Chicago in a regulation game.
“We’d like to see (McGee) do that more,” said Washington coach Flip
Saunders. “Concentrate more defensively and protect the rim.”
McGee achieved his triple-double with a dunk 18 seconds to play, after which
he received a technical foul for hanging on the rim.
“That was the hardest one point I ever tried to make in my life,” McGee
said. “It was crazy, but I got it. It was a dunk of relief.”
Crawford heated up in the second quarter against the Bulls’ reserves,
scoring 15 points in the period on 5-for-6 shooting and hit a jumper from the
right wing that brought Washington within 47-46 with 1.1 seconds left in the
half.
“Our second quarter was very poor,” said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau. “Our
floor balance was bad.”
Kurt Thomas(notes) sank a 3-pointer at the buzzer, putting the Bulls up 50-46 at
the break. It was Thomas’ first 3-pointer since April 10, 2005.
The Bulls pulled away with a 25-14 third period, highlighted by Deng’s 10
points. Bogans’ 3-pointer with 2:56 left put Chicago up 71-55, its biggest
advantage to that point.
The Bulls have won 10 of their last 11 games and improved to 30-4 at home.
Only San Antonio (31-3) had done better on their home floor.
“We feed off the fans,” Rose said. “If it wasn’t for them, we wouldn’t be
playing the way we’re playing. The energy in the arena is crazy.”
Chicago played its third straight game without Boozer, who sprained his left
ankle in a win over Charlotte on March 9. Boozer, who didn’t dress for the game,
was seen limping toward the Bulls locker room before the game. A timetable for
his return has not yet been established.
Noah missed the game because of flu-like symptoms. Noah was sent home from
the team’s shootaround on Tuesday morning after reporting that he wasn’t feeling
well. The illness isn’t believed to be serious.
“We’re playing hard,” Rose said. “All the people that came in filled
those spots. That’s what it’s all about.”
The Wizards suited up just nine players, six of which were rookies. It could
have been worse as John Wall’s(notes) availability was in question before warm-ups.
Wall had some soreness in his foot, which was stepped on during Washington’s
loss to Oklahoma City on Monday. Rashard Lewis(notes) (knee), Cartier Martin(notes) (knee),
Josh Howard(notes) (knee), Andray Blatche(notes) (shoulder) and Nick Young(notes) (flu) were all
unavailable.
“We started three rookies,” Saunders said. “We had a lot of opportunities
to fold, especially the we’ve played the last week or so. I thought our guys
played hard. We just ran out of gas.”
Notes: Only one team has gone 1-40 on the road since the NBA went to an
82-game schedule in 1967-68: the Sacramento Kings in 1990-91. … Legendary soul
singer Aretha Franklin sat courtside for the game. She received a standing
ovation from the crowd at the United Center after her image was flashed on the
scoreboard while her famous song “Respect” was playing over the arena’s sound
system.
