BULLS TURN TABLES, RALLY TO WIN
21-3 run in fourth erases 18-point deficit; LaVine makes five FTs late to force OT
WASHINGTON — Bulls forward Zach LaVine offered blunt advice to teammates as they rallied against the Wizards on Wednesday night.
“It just seemed like a real ugly game,” LaVine said. “I just kept telling them, ‘Hey, man, it’s an ugly game. Might as well get ugly with them.’”
It worked.
Wendell Carter Jr. made a layup with 9.1 seconds left in overtime, completing the Bulls’ comeback from an 18-point deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the Wizards 110-109.
LaVine capped a 21-3 run with three free throws that tied the score at 96 with 5.5 seconds left in the fourth. Bradley Beal hit a jumper with 0.5 seconds left to put Washington ahead 98-96, but LaVine was fouled on the ensuing inbound play and hit two free throws to force overtime.
“It showed that our identity should be like that for the rest of the year,” said Tomas Satoransky,
who scored 17 points and was the subject of a video tribute in his return to Washington. “We won thanks to our defense.”
Lauri Markkanen’s alley-oop basket gave the Bulls their first lead since the first quarter at 106-105 with 1:47 left in overtime.
Beal’s two free throws put the Wizards back on top, and Isaiah Thomas’ two foul shots made it 109-106 with 53 seconds left. Carter, aided by a lane violation by the Wizards, made two free throws with 40 seconds left and scored the winner after Beal’s miss.
Beal missed another jumper at the buzzer.
Markkanen had 31 points and nine rebounds, and LaVine had 24 points. Carter had nine points and nine rebounds and picked up a flagrant foul in the fourth.
The Bulls’ reserves were outscored by the Wizards’ 35-14.
“Trying to find a lineup that would work, that could get some juice going, and we went back with our starters,” Bulls coach Jim Boylen said after his starting five all played 34 minutes or more. “They battled, they made simple plays, they hung in there.”
Davis Bertans led the Wizards with 26 points, and Beal finished with 22 on 4-for-19 shooting.
The Wizards led 93-75 with 8:21 left in the fourth before Carter’s dunk started the Bulls’ spurt. LaVine’s three-pointer pulled the Bulls within 96-93 with 1:33 left. He scored 10 points in the final three minutes of the quarter.
“Just didn’t execute like we did to get us the lead, and I think that hurt us.” Thomas said. “We played like we were stalling, playing against the shot clock and hoping to make the shot at the end of the shot clock.”
The Bulls have won three straight against the Wizards for the first time since a sevengame streak from April 2, 2010, to Jan. 30, 2012.