CHICAGO (AP) — Bradley Beal scored 35 points and the Washington Wizards held on for a rare win, beating the Chicago Bulls 105-101 on Monday night.
Beal, the NBA’s leading scorer, hit three free throws in the final 9.8 seconds. Rui Hachimura added 19 points and a season-high 10 rebounds on his 23rd birthday, and the Wizards won for just the sixth time in 21 games this season even though they rested Russell Westbrook.
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Zach LaVine led Chicago with 35 points and Thaddeus Young scored 14, but the Bulls lost for the sixth time in eight games.
The Wizards led 93-84 about 4 1/2 minutes into the fourth quarter before Chicago scored seven straight points, capped by Denzel Valentine’s 3-pointer.
Beal then drove for a layup. Alex Len hit two free throws and scored on a putback dunk to bump Washington’s lead to 99-91. But the Bulls answered with a six-point spurt, pulling within two on LaVine’s two foul shots.
Beal made two of his own and Len added one to make it a five-point game before LaVine sank two more foul shots to pull Chicago to 102-99 with a minute left. Beal lost his dribble, resulting in a turnover, and Coby White hit a floater for the Bulls coming out of a timeout to cut it to one with 29 seconds left.
Beal got fouled on a drive and made the second free throw after missing the first to make it 103-101 with 9.8 seconds to play. After a timeout, a driving LaVine missed a layup over Len. Beal grabbed the rebound and hit free throws with 0.1 seconds left.
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TIP-INS
Wizards: Westbrook was held out because the Wizards were playing for the second time in two days. Coach Scott Brooks hopes to have the nine-time All-Star and 2017 NBA MVP playing on both ends of back-to-backs “down the road.”
Bulls: F Lauri Markkanen is out two to four weeks because of a sprained right shoulder. Markkanen was hurt Friday at Orlando when he was fouled by Magic forward Gary Clark early in the third quarter. … F Otto Porter Jr. (back spasms) missed his fourth consecutive game, and Chandler Hutchison (personal reasons) was held out of his second in a row, though he remains with the team. Bulls coach Billy Donovan had no timetable for Hutchison’s return.
UP NEXT
Wizards: They host Fred VanVleet and the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday.
Bulls: Will host Zion Williamson and the New Orleans Pelicans on Wednesday.
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