Visitors Washington Wizards were handed a 126-117 by hosts Chicago Bulls as Coby White scored 33 points and Zach LaVine followed closely with 32 points on Sunday. Bulls' ended their run of eight straight losses. Thaddeus Young made 23 points while Tomas Satoransky chipped in with a double-double scoring 15 points and making 13 assists.
Beal's career-high effort goes in vain
Bradley Beal scored a career-high 53 points in a losing effort for the Wizards, who have lost back-to-back games. Beal shot 15 of 27 from the field, 5 of 11 from beyond the arc and 18 of 20 from the free-throw line.
Both teams made more than half of their shots from the field. Chicago shot 55.6 percent (45 of 81) overall and 48.6 percent (18 of 37) from 3-point range, and Washington shot 50.7 percent (37 of 73) from the field and 40.0 percent (12 of 30) from deep.
Washington opened the fourth quarter on a 20-11 run to close the gap to 112-105 with 6:08 remaining. But Satoransky made a 3-pointer to provide some breathing room at 115-105 with 5:46 left. The Bulls pushed the lead to 15 points on a 3-pointer by LaVine with 2:45 remaining and held on the rest of the way.
Bulls entered the fourth quarter with a lead
Chicago entered the fourth quarter with a 101-85 lead. The Wizards went on a 17-5 run midway through the third quarter to slice the deficit to 88-75. Beal capped the run with a 3-pointer off an assist from Ish Smith. A 10-0 run to start the third quarter gave Chicago its largest lead of the night at 25 points. LaVine scored the first seven points during the run with a pair of 3-pointers and a free throw.
The Bulls jumped to a 73-58 halftime lead. It marked their highest-scoring first half since April 14, 2008, when they led 81-71 against the Milwaukee Bucks at the break. Washington opened the game with a 15-8 run, which included two 3-pointers and a layup from Beal. The Bulls closed the first quarter with a 27-16 advantage to grab a four-point lead.
(With inputs from agencies)
