+7
The Bulls improved to 18-5 with a win over the Washington Wizards on Monday.
Chicago Bulls star guard Derrick Rose talked about wanting to "go crazy" against the Washington Wizards after a demoralizing loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday, and the reigning MVP was a man of his word. Rose scored a season-high 35 points and finished with eight assists, three blocks and two steals in his matchup with Washington's John Wall to help lead Chicago to a 98-88 victory at the Verizon Center. The win improves Chicago to 18-5, while Washington falls to 4-17.
Chicago led wire-to-wire and were up by as many as 22 points, but Washington outscored Chicago 29-22 in the fourth to make the final look more respectable. Aside from Rose, three other Chicago starters reached double-figures in scoring. Carlos Boozer had 18 points on 9-of-16 shooting and also grabbed eight rebounds. Kyle Korever hit four first half three-pointers to finish with 17 points and five rebounds in his spot start for the injured Luol Deng. Joakim Noah had 14 points, 13 rebounds, and seven assists. It was Noah's fifth straight double-double.
Wall led the Wizards with 20 points and six rebounds.
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The Chicago Bulls were able to build on an 11-point halftime lead in the third quarter thanks in part to some more stellar play from point guard Derrick Rose, who has 31 points on 10-17 shooting as well as six assists and a pair of steals. The Bulls are shooting 45.9%, while the Wizards have never really been able to find the range; Washington is hitting less than 36% of its field goal attempts.
Related: Bulls at Washington Wizards: Game Preview #23
John Wall (18) and Javale McGee (11) are the only Wizards players in double figures. Kyle Korver has scored 17 for Chicago, and Joakim Noah has a double-double in hand with 10 points and 10 boards.
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The Washington Wizards are hanging in there after a rough first quarter, and they were able to essentially keep pace with the Bulls in the second period, though that also means they're still down double digits at the break.
John Wall has 14 points on 4-9 shooting to lead Washington, though he has only one assist to go with three turnovers. JaVale McGee also is in double figures with 11, and Nick Young has five points.
Related: Bulls at Washington Wizards: Game Preview #23
Derrick Rose continues to pace the Bulls offense and finished the half with 16 points and five assists. Kyle Korver, who started to heat up in the second quarter, has 14 points; he's hit four of eight three-point attempts.
C.J. Watson did get into the game, though he logged only about five minutes and did not score.
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Luol Deng and Richard Hamilton were ruled out of Monday night's game and C.J. Watson (a gametime decision) hasn't gotten on the floor either, but so far so good for the Bulls, who hold a 26-16 lead on the Washington Wizards through one quarter of play.
Related: Bulls at Washington Wizards: Game Preview #23
Derrick Rose was excellent in the period, scoring 13 points on 6-8 shooting. Carlos Boozer has six points, and Joakim Noah has four.
Shooting was a real struggle for Washington in the quarter -- the Wizards were 7-24 from the field -- and John Wall was the only person on the team to score more than two points.
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According to K.C. Johnson, the Chicago Bulls will be without Richard Hamilton and Luol Deng in Washington on Monday night.
Rip and Lu out vs. Wizards. CJ said, as of now, he's going to try to play. #Bulls
— K.C Johnson (@KCJHoop) January 30, 2012
Hamilton played in Chicago's loss to Miami on Sunday but shot just 4-16 from the field; after the game, he admitted that it was a struggle to play through his groin and thigh injuries. Hamilton had played in six of the last seven games, but Monday night's contest will be the 12th he's missed in January.
Related: SF Luol Deng Nearing Return
If Watson can't go, it will be the 11th game he's missed in January.
Deng hasn't played since injuring his wrist on Jan. 21, though he is reportedly getting close to returning.
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Not that the Chicago Bulls (17-5) will need that much firepower against a listless Washington Wizards (4-16) team, but they may have the services of SF Luol Deng relatively soon. According to K.C. Johnson of the Chicago Tribune, Deng is rather close to returning. The Bulls head coach said so rather explicitly:
"I would say he's very close," coach Tom Thibodeau said. "He's doing more and more and feels a lot better. We want to make sure he feels good about playing. He still has to take contact on it. As long as he's moving in the right direction, we're pleased with that."
Deng is averaging a career-high 5.8 rebounds per game in the 2011-2012 NBA season, adding to his equally valuable 15.9 points per game. The South Sudanese forward has missed over a week since tearing a ligament in his wrist.
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It's doubtful that the Chicago Bulls have much of a desire to take the court on Monday following an emotional, draining loss to the Miami Heat on Sunday, but the silver lining is that they'll at least be facing the worst team in the Eastern Conference. The Washington Wizards, at 4-16, have looked dreadful for most of the season, but they have reeled off two wins in their past three games, although both were over the equally lowly Charlotte Bobcats.
The Bulls are expected to be shorthanded once again, with starting SF Luol Deng still nursing a wrist injury and starting SG Richard Hamilton likely to sit out, or at least play significantly reduced minutes, after Sunday's battle with the Heat. With the Bulls depleted on the offensive end, it should be a rather low-scoring game, considering that the Wizards are 27th in the NBA in scoring and will be facing one of the most vaunted defenses in the league.
With seven straight road games still to come after Monday night's tilt in Washington, the Bulls will almost certainly be looking at the game as a way to recharge the batteries of their most important players, a few of whom played over 40 minutes vs. the Heat. Players like John Lucas, Brian Scalabrine and Omer Asik— who played a combined nine minutes against Miami— should see considerably more time on the court if things go to plan.
Game date/time: Monday, January 30, 2012, 6 p.m. CT
Location: Verizon Center, Washington, D.C.
TV: NBA TV
Radio: ESPN 1000 AM
Odds: Bulls favored by 8.5
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Richard Hamilton Injury Update: Guard Could Sit Out Until He Is Completely Healthy
According to K.C. Johnson, the Chicago Bulls may rest Richard Hamilton until the shooting guard fully recovers from the injuries that have been nagging him.
Related: Early-Week roundup: Bulls lost to the Heat because the Heat are better; 'Booz' is a four-letter word
Hamilton twice has come back from injury only to be forced to sit out the following game(s).
A healthy Hamilton figures to be an important part of the Bulls once playoff time rolls around, and the team can afford to give him the time he needs to heal without having to worry about putting a playoff berth in jeopardy.
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Jan 31 7:40p by Steven Muma