WASHINGTON (AP) — After winning two games in a row to close out 2024, the Bulls seemingly had a great opportunity to kick off 2025 with a third straight victory when they visited the nation’s capital on Wednesday night to face the woeful Wizards.
Things certainly didn’t go as planned for Chicago.
Jordan Poole scored 30 points to continue his strongest stretch in a Washington uniform, and the Wizards — who have the worst record in the Eastern Conference and the second-worst in the entire NBA — beat the Bulls, 125-107, on New Year’s night.
Instead of climbing closer to .500, the Bulls dropped to 15-19 and continued to hold down the No. 10 spot in the Eastern Conference as 2025 gets underway.
The Wizards, meanwhile, improved to 6-15. Their .194 winning percentage is better than only the Western Conference’s New Orleans Pelicans, who at 5-29 have a winning percentage of .147.
Nevertheless, Poole — who joined Washington from Golden State prior to the 2023-24 season — made six 3-pointers Wednesday and topped 25 points for a fifth straight game, the first such stretch of his career.
Rookie Alex Sarr added 11 points and 10 rebounds as one of seven players in double figures to help the last-place Wizards to their largest win of the season.
Zach LaVine scored 32 points for the Bulls after he sat out Monday’s win in Charlotte with toe soreness. Coby White added 17 points, and Nikola Vucevic had 12 points and 13 rebounds for Chicago, which committed 20 turnovers and trailed throughout the final three quarters.
Takeaways
Bulls: They missed a crucial opportunity to pull within two games of .500 for just the second time since losing to Cleveland on Nov. 15. But Chicago does play seven of its next eight at home, starting Saturday night against the surging New York Knicks, winners of nine straight entering Thursday.
Wizards: They’re still last in the Eastern Conference at 6-25 but have been playing far more competitive basketball. That’s particularly true at home, where Washington is 4-6 since the start of December.
Key moment
Washington effectively sealed the outcome with a 7-0 run early in the fourth to build a 20-point lead, their biggest of the night. Rookie Kyshawn George hit his lone 3-pointer of the night to open the spurt, then completed it with a steal and dunk that made it 104-84.
Key stat
The Bulls finished 29.8% (14-of-47) from 3-point range, well below their 37.2% average entering Wednesday.
Up Next
Wizards visit New Orleans on Friday and Bulls host New York on Saturday.