Devastated by the Bulls, the Wizards officially secure their draft position. Injuries mount as a depleted squad faces a relentless offensive onslaught.
The Washington Wizards were dismantled by the Chicago Bulls, 129-98, solidifying them as a bottom-three team in the NBA regardless of the results in the final three games. Washington officially secures its draft rights to its first-round pick in the upcoming draft.
Also, Washington is guaranteed to have 14% odds at landing the first-overall pick.
The Wizards entered the game depleted due to injury, as they typically have in recent weeks. They just had eight available players.
Bilal Coulibaly got off to an aggressive start, scoring Washington's first six points. He attacked the basket relentlessly in the opening minutes.
The Bulls responded to Coulibaly's run with an 8-2 run of their own. They kept pace with the Wizards after the early possessions and grew a small lead. Soon, that lead expanded to double digits.
Coulibaly finished the game with 19 points on 7/10 shooting.
Collin Sexton was the driving force for Chicago throughout the first quarter. The Wizards scored six points in the first two minutes of this first quarter. After that , they were outscored 26-7 before Brian Keefe called a timeout with three minutes left in the quarter.
The Bulls finished the quarter on a 36-12 run, taking a 38-18 lead into the second quarter. Washington struggled to generate clean offensive looks. They turned it over 14 times in the game's first 11 minutes.
An interesting development became Will Riley sat on the bench until the 1:48 mark in the first quarter. He entered the game on the heels of back-to-back 30+ point performances.
Rob Dillingham scored the ball well for the Bulls in the first half. He and the Bulls were efficient from the floor, consistently knocking down their open looks.
The Bulls reached 55 points before the Wizards could get to 30, and Keefe called another timeout with 5:05 left in the half.
The Bulls' lead kept growing. It eventually became a 30-point deficit by the end of the first half. Coulibaly led the Wizards offensively in the half, scoring 11 of Washington's 37 points.
The Wizards trailed 66-37 at halftime. They turned the ball over 15 times en route to their season-low point total for a first half.
The Bulls kept their foot on the gas all through the third quarter. They expanded the lead to 34, as the Wizards continued to show no resistance. The lead for Chicago was 37 after three quarters.
The Wizards play the Bulls again on Thursday.