The Chicago Bulls will open a run of five consecutive home games starting Friday against the Washington Wizards, intent on reigniting a recent run of success that vaulted them into the playoff picture.
The Bulls will have to regain some momentum following a 129-113 loss to the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday. That defeat came after Chicago won four of its previous five games, but that lone loss was to the lowly Wizards, 125-107 at Washington on Jan. 1.
The Bulls’ Zach LaVine has scored at least 30 points in 10 games this season and four of those have come in the team’s last four games, including a 31-point effort against the Pacers. He is averaging a team-high 23.3 points per game with 4.6 rebounds and 4.5 assists.
LaVine scored 32 points in the recent loss to the Wizards to start the four-game scoring burst. Chicago gave up 33 points on 20 turnovers at Washington, when the Wizards shot 47.2 percent (17 of 36) from 3-point range.
On Wednesday at Indiana, the Bulls had 18 more turnovers that led to 17 points, with 14 of those turnovers coming in the first half when they fell behind 63-44 at the break.
“The turnovers started early,” Bulls coach Billy Donovan said. “We never really found a flow, so we were always back on our heels for most of the game.”
Against Washington, Coby White scored 17 points for the Bulls while Nikola Vucevic added 12 points with 14 rebounds. Vucevic’s 5-of-17 shooting night left him well below his season average of 20.2 points.
“That’s our job to show up and play,” Chicago forward Patrick Williams said, according to the Chicago Sun-Times, after he scored seven points with three rebounds in 23 minutes. “We didn’t do that for the whole night.”
The Wizards have followed their victory over the Bulls with four consecutive losses, including a 109-103 setback on the road against the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday. Washington is just 1-6 going back to Dec. 28 and 3-11 since Dec. 8.
The Wizards were without leading scorer Jordan Poole and Malcolm Brogdon on Wednesday, but the 76ers were without a galaxy of stars in Joel Embiid, Paul George and Kyle Lowry, not to mention Andre Drummond.
Poole (left hip contusion) is listed as questionable against Chicago while Brogdon (right foot discomfort) was ruled out. Poole, who scores 21.8 points per game, has missed five of the past seven contests, while Brogdon (13.8 points) will miss his third straight.
Jared Butler stepped up to lead Washington with a career-high 26 points and seven assists in just 20 minutes, while Corey Kispert added 23 points as both came off the bench. Richaun Holmes had 11 rebounds in a reserve role.
It was just the 46th time in NBA history a player scored at least 26 points in 20 or fewer minutes.
“It feels great,” Butler said. “A lot of hard work, a lot of patience, and sometimes the opportunity isn’t the best opportunity, or the most glamorous opportunity. Like I said earlier, don’t get bitter, get better, stay patient, and just make the most out of it.”
Poole scored 30 points in the victory over the Bulls earlier this month, while Brogdon added 12 off the bench. Washington took 99 shot attempts in that game, tied for its third-most this season, while shooting 49.5 percent overall, its fifth-best mark.
