After getting their first road win of the season in Charlotte this weekend, the Washington Wizards returned home Monday to face one of the league's best teams in the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls came to town after a frustrating road loss to Miami on Sunday, and Derrick Rose was coming off two-straight 34 points games. Rose matched that total against the Wizards and then went further to set his season-high 35 points. He paced Chicago to a 98-88 win, with Washington competing until the final minute against the league's elite.
When the Wizards played in Chicago earlier this season, they set a franchise record low for points with 64 against Tom Thibodeau's defense. They fared better at home on Monday, as they fought back in the fourth quarter to force several Chicago turnovers and cut a large second half 20-point lead down to 10. Playing against Rose, John Wall led the Wizards with 20 points while Nick Young added 17. But the Wizards hit just three of 14 attempts from downtown, and Chicago was too much to handle on the offensive end.
The Wizards are now 4-17 and will travel to Orlando on Wednesday to face a Magic team that has lost five of six and is struggling to score 70 points in a game.
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