Wizards pull over win over Bulls
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Kevin Seraphin recorded 21 points and 13 rebounds, leading the Wizards to an 87-84 victory over the Eastern Conference- leading Bulls.
Chicago, playing without its top scorers in Derrick Rose and Luol Deng, had a chance to tie at the buzzer, but C.J. Watson's three-point attempt fell short.
Washington snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Bulls, thanks in part to John Wall posting 16 points and five assists while committing only one turnover.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Richard Hamilton paced the Bulls with 22 points, while Watson and Carlos Boozer added 17 and 16 points, respectively, in defeat.
Despite the loss, Chicago still leads the conference by 2 1/2 games over the Miami Heat with five to play.
With Rose sitting due to a right foot injury and Deng out with bruised ribs, the Wizards reeled off 13 straight points early in the fourth to take a 70-68 lead.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Late in the frame, the Wizards went ahead 82-77 when Wall raced up the court and dished to a trailing James Singelton for a two-handed dunk with under two minutes to play.
Watson made a pair of jumpers around Wall's 1-for-2 effort at the free throw line, and the Bulls, trailing 83-81, got the ball back with under a minute to play when Shelvin Mack turned it over.
But Chicago gave the ball right back, as Boozer couldn't handle Joakim Noah's bounce pass in the post. Wall made two free throws at the other end with 22.7 seconds left to make it a four-point game.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Watson kept the hosts alive by draining a three-pointer, and after Maurice Evans drained two free throws, an instant replay reversal gave Chicago the ball after it was originally ruled Hamilton shot an airball from long range. The replay showed Chris Singleton got a piece of the shot before going out of bounds.
Still, the Bulls were unable to knot things, as Watson gained some space with a pump fake but drew all iron from the top of the key as the clock ticked away.
The Bulls led 23-19 after the first quarter, but trailed 43-40 at halftime after shooting just 4-of-17 (24 percent) from the floor in the second stanza.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Washington went cold in the third and were outscored 23-14 to trail, 63-57 heading to the fourth.
Game Notes
The Bulls fell to 16-8 without Rose in the lineup...The Wizards won the battle in the paint, 48-22 and had 18 more fastbreak points...There were 11 lead changes and 13 ties....Evans finished with 14 points.