Bulls record first win with help from three ex-Wizards
The Bulls have been waiting for this for a few years now: the Otto Porter revenge game.
Porter has been sidelined with injuries and missed a lot of games since the Bulls got him in a trade with Washington nearly two years ago.
Porter and two other former Wizards delivered Tuesday as the Bulls collected the first win of the Billy Donovan era, beating Washington 115-107. These teams will meet again Thursday in the same location.
"I don't really buy into all that stuff," Porter said about the revenge-game storyline. "It was just nice to get our first win. We worked so hard for that first one. It just happened to be against my former team. This is a gym I've been playing in for a long time. It felt good to be back here and get a W."
After the game, Zach LaVine presented Donovan with the game ball to commemorate for his first victory as head coach of the Bulls. But in a realistic holiday spirit, the ball was quickly re-gifted.
"They did do that and I handed it up to Arturas (Karnisovas)," Donovan said, referring to the Bulls' new director of basketball operations. "So it kind of went from the players to the coach to the front office. So Arturas has it now, but yes, that's how it went."
LaVine led seven Bulls in double figures with 23 points. Coby White, who was cheering on LaVine during his postgame Zoom call with reporters, added 18 points. Porter added 16 points, Garrett Temple and rookie Patrick Williams had 12 each, while Tomas Satoransky and Wendell Carter Jr. scored 10.
Porter, Satoransky and Temple are all former Wizards, though the three of them were never all together in Washington.
"It's always cool to play against your ex team," Satoransky said. "I've already played here last year so it wasn't that much exciting like it was last year, especially having the fans in here. It was kind of weird, like every game. You always have that extra motivation to do good. I'm glad we could help like that."
The three ex-Wizards are a huge part of Donovan's strategy of mixing veterans with young players and it's led to the Bulls making quick improvements after starting the season with two ugly losses.
"I think this is a really good mix," Satoransky said. "In Garrett, we have another veteran who can play and he knows how to play. OP coming off the bench gives you a lot of shooting and also knowledge. I think it's a great mix.
"Obviously we have so much talent on that starting lineup, but they sometimes have some troubles during moments of the game. They weren't on many winning teams and they're very young yet, but I think it's our responsibility to lead by example."
Lauri Markkanen was listed as questionable on the injury report with a calf contusion suffered late in Sunday's loss to Golden State. He started against the Wizards, but appeared to reinjure himself late in the second quarter.
The 7-foot Finland native was back on the floor to start the third quarter, but checked out after just over three minutes and didn't return.
Wizards guard Bradley Beal scored 53 points in his last game against the Bulls, last Feb. 23 at the United Center, back when the world was a much different place. He had a much tougher time Tuesday, although he managed to finish with 29 points on 9-of-20 shooting from the field.
Teammate Russell Westbrook piled up 21 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists to collect his 149th career triple-double and third in three tries since joining the Wizards.
Beal, a St. Louis native, spent his lone season in college playing for Donovan at the University of Florida. He went to the locker room in the third quarter after a collision with Carter and the Wizards reported he was in concussion protocol. But Beal was back on the court a few minutes later
Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls