Bulls at Wizards
The Washington Wizards were eliminated from the postseason last week but are still pushing and capped a four-game road trip with a 95-90 victory at playoff-bound Denver on Sunday. The Wizards will try to make it back-to-back victories when they host the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday.
Washington, which reshaped its roster at the trade deadline by dealing small forward Otto Porter Jr. to the Bulls in a move that brought back forwards Bobby Portis Jr. and Jabari Parker, is trying to build a team that can compete next year and is not sitting All-Star guard Bradley Beal the rest of the way. Beal, who collected 17 points and six assists in Sunday's win, is developing a chemistry with the likes of Parker, Portis, rookie forward Troy Brown Jr. and center Thomas Bryant as the season winds down. Chicago would like to spend the remainder of the regular season developing chemistry among its core players but is having trouble keeping them on the floor. The Bulls are losers of five in a row and opened the two-game trip with a 113-105 loss at NBA-worst New York on Monday as four of their five starters sat out the contest.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCS Chicago, NBCS Washington
ABOUT THE BULLS (21-57): Chicago is missing point guard Kris Dunn (back), guard Zach LaVine (thigh), power forward Lauri Markkanen (fatigue), Porter (shoulder) and rookie center Wendell Carter Jr. (thumb), leaving plenty of minutes for players trying to prove themselves for next season. Forward JaKarr Sampson made the most of his opportunity with 22 points on 8-of-10 shooting in 30 minutes off the bench while making his team debut on Monday. "The one thing I like about JaKarr is he just competes," Bulls coach Jim Boylen told reporters. "You throw him out there at three, you throw him out there at four, you throw him out there at five, he figures it out. He gets downhill, he embraces contact, collision. He's just a tough, hard playing dude."
ABOUT THE WIZARDS (32-46): Brown, who was drafted 15th overall by Washington last June, struggled to break into the rotation until March and steadily increased his production throughout the month. The Oregon product logged a season-high 42 minutes on Sunday and scored a season-high 24 points on 9-of-16 shooting, including 5-of-7 from beyond the arc. "I thought we competed like I knew we would," Wizards coach Scott Brooks told reporters. "It was great to see Troy have a great game, make some shots. A lot of work from Troy all year long, it's definitely showing."
BUZZER BEATERS
1. Bulls C Robin Lopez scored a season-high 29 points on Monday after being held to two points in a loss to Toronto on Saturday.
2. The Wizards fired president Ernie Grunfeld on Tuesday after 16 seasons.
3. Chicago outlasted Washington 126-120 in overtime at home on March 20 and took two of the first three meetings.