Makeshift Bulls Lineup Outlasts Wizards, 109-104
CHICAGO (AP) — Taj Gibson and E'Twaun Moore each scored 17 points, Tony Snell added 16 and a thrown-together roster of Chicago Bulls backups beat the Washington Wizards, 109-104, on Wednesday night.
Three of the Bulls' top four scorers missed the game and the fourth was sick.
Pau Gasol, who missed practice on Tuesday and was playing with the flu, narrowly missed a triple-double, finishing with 15 rebounds, 10 points and nine assists in the Bulls' third straight victory.
Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 19 points. Garrett Temple scored 18 and Ramon Sessions and John Wall added 16. Markieff Morris had 10 rebounds for the Wizards.
Chicago's Derrick Rose was a last-minute scratch with right hamstring tendinitis, while the Bulls' leading scorer, Jimmy Butler, missed a seventh game with a left knee strain. Nikola Mirotic is out because of appendicitis.
Mike Dunleavy and Doug McDermott each had 14 points for Chicago. Aaron Brooks finished 11.
The Bulls also have been without Joakim Noah because of a shoulder injury since Jan. 15.
The teams played fairly evenly in the first half with Chicago taking a 57-55 halftime lead. The Bulls then went on a third-quarter run that had them up by as much as 15 in the period.
TIP-INS
Wizards: Alan Anderson returned to the lineup for the Wizards, playing for the first time this season after surgery on his left ankle. He finished with nine points in 16 minutes. ... Gary Neal missed his seventh straight game with right leg soreness.
Bulls: Despite the makeshift starting lineup, all five Bulls starters scored in double figures. ... Since Jan. 9, the Bulls have had eight players miss games for a total of 60 lost games, tied for second-most games lost to injury over that span. ...The Bulls are 6-1 without Rose in the lineup.
UP NEXT
Wizards: at Philadelphia on Friday night.
Bulls: at Atlanta on Friday night.
(© 2016 by STATS LLC and Associated Press. Any commercial use or distribution without the express written consent of STATS LLC and Associated Press is strictly prohibited.)
