Bulls' small lineup comes up large against Wizards

Vinny Del Negro's most commonly-used phrase this season when describing his team's development is, "There are no easy answers."

Well, the first-time coach found the right answer in Saturday's 117-110 win over the Washington Wizards and it was definitely unconventional.

Del Negro went with an all-small lineup featuring 6-foot-7 Andres Nocioni at center, flanked by Luol Deng, Larry Hughes, Derrick Rose and Ben Gordon.

Naturally, the next two Wizards possessions ended with 7-footer Andray Blatche dropping easy turnaround jumpers over Nocioni's head, trimming the Bulls' lead to 69-68 midway through the third quarter.

Del Negro called time out, but instead of subbing in a big man, he trotted the exact same lineup back onto the court. Lo and behold, the Bulls (9-11) embarked on a 10-0 run.

"We've got to get more commitment and more consistency from our bigs in certain areas," Del Negro said. "I just thought the guys that were competing and playing the hardest, whether they're small or big (should play). We can front the post and get weak-side help."

Nocioni admitted he took some heat during the time out for his defensive effort.

"I think he scorned me because I was a little bit distracted," Nocioni said. "After that, I tried to play harder, tried to play a little bit better with my D and I did."

Del Negro probably figured a high-scoring group was the best option, because this certainly wasn't a night to celebrate defense. While the teams combined for 227 points, the Bulls shot 52.4 percent from the field and Washington was even better at 54.2 percent.

While Nocioni shook free from Blatche to hit a 3-pointer and layup to ignite the 10-0 run, the 6-2 Gordon provided the defensive intimidation. Gordon threw back a driving layup attempt by Antonio Daniels, then wagged his finger Dikembe Mutombo-style.

"I guess because I always wanted to do it," Gordon said with a smile. "I figured that was the perfect opportunity."

A day after Del Negro made sharing the ball a primary message at practice, the Bulls piled up a season-high 31 assists. They also knocked down 11 of 20 shots from 3-point range against Washington's indifferent defense.

There were a slew of offensive stars for the home team. Deng (26 points) had consecutive 20-point performances for the first time this season. Hughes hit 5 of 6 3-pointers for 24 points and is now 12-for-17 on 3s in the past four games. Gordon scored 21, Nocioni 19, while Rose had 15 points and 8 assists.

"We were really unselfish," Deng said. "We've just got to learn we're tough to beat when we play like that."

The Wizards (3-15) made the crowd nervous by cutting a 17-point deficit to 102-98 with 2:35 remaining. But Drew Gooden (12 points, 10 rebounds) was able to score in the post on former Bull Darius Songaila and complete a 3-point play to provide some relief.

This was a familiar story line for the Wizards. On Friday night, they trailed the Lakers by 19 points with eight minutes remaining, pulled within 106-104 and had a chance to win until Caron Butler's 3-pointer missed the mark as time expired.