Wizards 102, Bulls 93
Nene led the way with 24 points and eight rebounds as visiting Washington came through down the stretch and knocked off Chicago in Game 1 of the first-round Eastern Conference series.
Trevor Ariza scored 18 points and Marcin Gortat collected 15 points and 13 rebounds for the fifth-seeded Wizards, who visit the Bulls for Game 2 on Tuesday. John Wall scored 16 points and Bradley Beal added 13 points and seven assists for Washington.
D.J. Augustin and Kirk Hinrich scored 16 points apiece to lead Chicago, which was outscored 30-18 in the fourth quarter. Jimmy Butler scored 15 points, Taj Gibson added 12 and Joakim Noah recorded 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Bulls.
The Wizards grabbed their first lead of the second half at 88-87 on Ariza’s free throws with 4:16 left, and Nene’s jumper with 2:40 to play pushed the advantage to 92-88. Noah’s tip-in brought the Bulls back within two points but Gortat hit a pair of free throws and Nene blocked Hinrich before Gortat knocked down a jumper to make it a 96-90 gap with 34.2 seconds remaining.
Hinrich and Augustin scored five points apiece during a 14-4 run that left Chicago on top 51-44 late in the second quarter, and Augustin’s three-point play helped the Bulls take a 54-48 lead into the break. Washington trailed by as much as 13 points early in the third before storming back within 75-72 heading into the final stanza.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Nene had been coming off the bench since returning from an MCL injury on April 9 but got the start in Game 1 and went 11-of-17 from the field in 35 minutes. … The Bulls (eight) and the Wizards (10) combined for only 18 turnovers. … Washington G Andre Miller scored eight of his 10 points in the fourth quarter.