By Zachary McMahon-
The Washington Wizards played the Chicago Bulls in the third week of the NBA Cup at the Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. on Tuesday night. The Bulls won their last NBA Cup matchup against the Atlanta Hawks on Friday by the score of 136-122. The Bulls lost against the Memphis Grizzlies on Saturday by the score of 142-131. The Wizards had lost 11 straight games prior to this matchup after starring 2-2 after two straight victories over the Atlanta Hawks.
Jordan Poole sat out for the second straight game for the Wizards with left hip soreness.
The Bulls struggled in the first quarter, as the Wizards ended with a 29-21 lead, and Chicago was 1 for 13 from beyond the arc.
The Bulls took the lead in the second quarter as they outscored the Wizards 40-18 in the quarter, and kept it for good against the struggling Wizards in the NBA Cup game. After the first quarter, the Bulls sank 10 out of their next 15 three-pointers to rout the Bulls 127-108. The 40 points in the second quarter were the most the Bulls have scored in a quarter this season so far and it was Washington’s second most allowed points in a quarter.
Nikola Vucevic had a double-double for the Bulls with 19 points and 12 rebounds, and Coby White led with 21 points. All five starters for the Bulls reached double-figures with Josh Giddey scoring the least out of the five starters with 11, although he led with eight assists. Talen Horton-Tucker and Jalen Smith had 13 and 12 off the bench respectively, and Smith had nine boards.
Kyle Kuzma led the Wizards with 23 points, while Alex Sarr tied his career high with 20 points. Both led with seven rebounds, and Sarr made four threes, an area where he has struggled as a rookie, making just 20% of threes before the game.
The Bulls had allowed the second-lowest points this season, which the lowest was on Oct. 30 against the Orlando Magic when they won 102-99. This game was the highest margin of victory for Chicago this season.
The Wizards will stay in D.C. as they will face the L.A. Clippers at 7 p.m. Wednesday, while the Bulls will travel down to the Sunshine State to face the Orlando Magic on Wednesday at 7 p.m. tip off.
Sports Insider Daily 