No love lost as short-handed Bulls top Wizards
This statement shouldn't be a surprise to anyone. But lines like this don't make it into print very often.
Washington Wizards power forward Nene apparently was in a sour mood on his way to face the Bulls.
“How many times do we have to talk about Chicago?” he said Monday, according to The Washington Post. “I don't want to talk about Chicago. You know I hate them. You can put that.”
Maybe Nene was too focused on doing harm Tuesday at the United Center. He got into early foul trouble and never scored before fouling out with 5:28 remaining.
The short-handed Bulls, playing without three of their top five scorers, rose to the occasion. They still found three 20-point scorers and beat the Wizards 97-92 at the United Center.
Rookie Nikola Mirotic led the Bulls for the second straight game, scoring 23 points. Guard Aaron Brooks scored 22 points, while Pau Gasol finished with 20 points and 10 rebounds. Joakim Noah (14 points, 12 rebounds) also had a big game.
The injuries included Jimmy Butler (elbow), Derrick Rose (knee) and Taj Gibson (elbow). The Bulls used a starting lineup that hadn't played together at any time this season until Sunday.
“Guys really brought it tonight. Hopefully we can maintain that focus,” Mike Dunleavy said. “Now we're going to have to settle in and play like this every night and hold down the fort for a few weeks.”
Nene's fifth foul was ruled flagrant when he clubbed Noah in the face to prevent an open layup with 8:13 remaining in the fourth quarter.
Tempers flared, a common sight when these teams match up. Paul Pierce jawed with Brooks after the flagrant foul and got a technical foul while the free throws were being shot.
When these teams met in the playoffs last year, Nene was ejected and suspended for head-butting Butler. During preseason, Pierce and Noah had a verbal altercation that drew technical fouls.
It was an odd mix of messages. Not only was it “Violence Prevention Night” at the United Center, Noah was celebrating the release of an anti-violence video he helped create.
“I'm just happy we won and I'm happy I kept my composure,” Noah said. “Just trying to put out a video a couple hours before the game about nonviolence and trying to teach the kids the big picture. So it wouldn't have been a good look. Not today.”
The eight-minute video, titled “You're Not Alone,” features several people, including Derrick Rose and Taj Gibson, talking about losing loved ones to gun violence.
“I think it's important to let people express themselves and talk about painful situations,” Noah said. “We're just trying to bring as much awareness as possible.”
The Bulls (38-23) took control with a 7-0 run to open a 10-point lead late in the third quarter. The Bulls fought off a couple of Washington runs in the fourth quarter. After the flagrant foul, the Wizards closed within 80-74, but the Bulls answered with a Mirotic lay-in and Brooks drive. Tony Snell's 3-pointer with 4:22 left sent the lead back to 89-79.
The Wizards finally made up some ground when Pierce hit his fourth 3-pointer of the night and Bradley Beal followed with a driving lay-in and 3-point play. After Brooks lost the ball on a drive into the lane, Otto Porter's runner made it 94-91 with 1:49 left.
After a Bulls miss, Beal had an open look at a tying 3-pointer, but couldn't connect. The teams swapped free throws, then Gasol put the game on ice by rebounding Snell's 3-point miss and hitting 2 free throws to make it 97-92 with 8.5 seconds on the clock.
The Wizards (34-27) came into this one having lost 11 of their previous 14 games. A storyline from the Washington perspective was playing the hated Bulls might shake the Wizards out of their doldrums.
“I wish we could play them every day,” Beal said. “We always just get up for Chicago. We're always locked in. We always play pretty much our best game whenever we face up against them.”
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