Wizards at Bulls
The Chicago Bulls were as low as they had been all season after a disastrous week that saw them drop three straight, culminating with a 95-69 home setback against the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday. One weekend of practice and one win turned the outlook around, and the Bulls will try to build on the momentum when they host the Washington Wizards on Wednesday.
Chicago shot 30.4 percent from the field in Friday's loss and was booed by the home fans, but the Bulls found their form while shooting 72.7 percent in the first half on Monday en route to a 113-82 triumph over the visiting Detroit Pistons. "It's a great feeling when the ball's going through the basket," Chicago guard Dwyane Wade told reporters. "That's the thing about the game - you don't do much different when it comes to shooting the ball. I think the one thing we did do is move the ball around, we moved bodies around." The Wizards look like a playoff contender when their shots are falling as well, but they struggle if guards John Wall and Bradley Beal are off the mark. The two combined to go 3-of-16 from 3-point range on Monday and Washington ended up falling 107-105 to the Indiana Pacers to drop to 2-9 on the road.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), CSN Chicago
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (12-15): Washington won three in a row at home before falling in the final seconds at Indiana despite Beal draining a tying jumper with 15 seconds left. "It's a little more frustrating," Wall told reporters of the loss. "A game we played well. We got stops when we needed, we executed the game plan that we wanted. Even the last shot, we got a great look." Beal finished with 22 points on 7-of-19 shooting after putting up 41 points in a 117-110 triumph over the Los Angeles Clippers on Sunday.
ABOUT THE BULLS (14-13): Chicago ended up shooting 58.9 percent from the floor on Monday and had seven players score in double figures, including two - Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott with 13 points apiece - off the much-maligned bench. Star swingman Jimmy Butler need only seven shots to score a team-high 19 points after going 3-of-14 from the floor in Friday's setback. "If you're not making shots, it's hard to win," Butler told reporters. "But we guarded. We let our defense lead to our offense. Got off to an early lead and for once we actually sustained it."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Wizards C Marcin Gortat scored a season-high 21 points on Monday and added 13 rebounds for his third double-double in the last four games.
2. Rajon Rondo recorded his third double-double this month and fifth this season with 10 points and a season-high 14 assists on Monday.
3. Butler collected 37 points, nine assists and eight rebounds in a 106-95 home win over Washington on Nov. 12.