Wizards at Bulls
The Washington Wizards can't afford to suffer a loss to a team below them in the standings as they try to keep their dwindling playoff hopes alive. The Wizards will try to bounce back from their latest setback and take care of a team out of the race when they visit the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
Washington slid 4 1/2 games behind the eighth-place Miami Heat with a 116-95 home loss to the Utah Jazz on Monday that featured a rare off night from All-Star shooting guard Bradley Beal. The Wizards are making a one-game stop on the road before returning home for a two-game stretch that includes a visit from the Heat on Saturday. The Bulls are mathematically eliminated from postseason contention but ended a five-game skid by turning things around at the defensive end in a 116-101 triumph at Phoenix on Monday. Chicago will have a say in how things shake out for the postseason with eight of its final 10 games against teams still in the race, including two against Washington.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCS Washington, NBCS Chicago
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (30-41): Beal scored 40 points in back-to-back games over the weekend but was held to 15 on 4-of-12 shooting in Monday’s setback. "They face-guarded me the whole game," Beal told reporters. "I'm not going to score 40 points every night. Everybody knows that. I hope we don't have that expectation, because I'm not Superman." Beal combined to go 16-of-25 from 3-point range against Charlotte and Memphis on Friday and Saturday but struggled to 0-of-3 from beyond the arc against Utah.
ABOUT THE BULLS (20-52): Chicago is a rebuilding team but coach Jim Boylen is still playing his veterans and center Robin Lopez is taking advantage of the court time. The 30-year-old big man collected a team-high 24 points on 11-of-14 shooting in Monday's triumph - his third 20-plus effort in the last four games. Guard Zach LaVine is the class of the under-25 players on the roster and collected 17 points on 5-of-10 shooting, eight rebounds, seven assists and a steal in the victory.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bulls SF Otto Porter Jr. (shoulder) sat out Monday and is day-to-day.
2. Washington PF Jabari Parker is averaging 18.3 points over the last nine games.
3. Beal scored 31 points in a 134-125 win at Chicago on Feb. 9.