National Basketball Association
Chicago 133, Washington 130
When: 5:00 PM ET, Thursday, December 31, 2020
Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia
Officials: #39 Tyler Ford, #81 Simone Jelks, #15 Zach Zarba
Attendance: N/A

Otto Porter Jr. had 28 points and 12 rebounds while Zach LaVine added 22 points as the visiting Chicago Bulls defeated the Washington Wizards 133-130 on Thursday to earn a sweep of the teams' back-to-back series.

Washington lost its fifth consecutive game to open the season despite the fourth triple-double in as many contests from Russell Westbrook, who finished with 22 points, 11 assists and 10 rebounds.

Chicago finally was able to exhale after emerging from a fourth quarter that included six lead changes in the final five minutes.

With the Bulls leading 129-128, LaVine blocked a Westbrook layup attempt with 44.6 seconds remaining, but Chicago was unable to capitalize on the other end as Thaddeus Young missed a layup attempt with 24.5 seconds remaining.

Washington had the ball with the shot clock turned off, but Bradley Beal missed a driving layup attempt with 14.4 seconds to play, and Porter Jr. made both free throws for the Bulls after he was fouled following a rebound.

Westbrook hit a pair of free throws with 6.6 seconds to go to pull the Wizards within 131-130. LaVine responded with a pair of free throws to account for the final margin before Porter Jr. corralled an errant inbounds pass to seal the victory.

Coby White also had a double-double for the Bulls, finishing with 16 points and a career-high 10 assists.

Chicago's Wendell Carter Jr. scored 11 of his 16 points in the third quarter before he was slowed by a hip injury early in the fourth quarter.

Young added 15 points off the bench for the Bulls in his season debut. Young was active but did not play in Tuesday in Chicago's 115-107 win at Washington after missing the first three games while recovering from an infection in his lower left leg.

Daniel Gafford had 15 points and Patrick Williams added 10 for Chicago.

Thomas Bryant and Beal each scored 28 points for the Wizards. Making his season debut after recovering from an eye ailment, Rui Hachimura added 17 points while Raul Neto chipped in 15.

Chicago led 71-68 at halftime but quickly surrendered the lead as Washington opened the third quarter on an 8-0 run. The Bulls recovered to take a 107-101 lead into the fourth.

Lauri Markkanen, Chandler Hutchison, Ryan Arcidiacono and Tomas Satoransky all were out for the Bulls due to the NBA's health and safety protocols.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Chicago   Washington
Otto Porter Jr. 28 Scoring Bradley Beal 28
Coby White 10 Assists Russell Westbrook 11
Otto Porter Jr. 12 Rebounds Russell Westbrook 10
Zach LaVine 9 Free Throws Made Bradley Beal 12
Otto Porter Jr. 3 Steals Raul Neto 3
Wendell Carter Jr. 1 Blocks Thomas Bryant 3
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Chicago 133 54.3 14-36 19-25 34 44 3 9 17
Washington 130 50.0 14-29 32-41 27 37 4 8 14
Upcoming Games
  • Washington will play their next game on the road against Minnesota. The Wizards have a W/L % of .000 after a win and .000 after a loss.
  • Chicago will play their next game on the road against Milwaukee. The Bulls have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .333 after a loss.