CHICAGO, March 1 (Ticker) -- Teenage rookie Eddy Curry had season highs of 19 points and 14 rebounds as the Chicago Bulls handed the Washington Wizards their seventh straight defeat, 90-81.

Marcus Fizer, who added 19 points and 10 boards, dunked to give Chicago a 79-69 advantage with 5:08 to play. Washington climbed within 80-79 on a pair of free throws by Richard Hamilton with 2:04 left, but Travis Best hit back-to-back jumpers to give the Bulls a five-point cushion with 80 seconds remaining.

"It was a one-point game and we were hurting for some baskets," Best said. "They were timely. For some reason they went out on the screen. Maybe it was good on their part because I had not made a shot all game and they forced me to take the shot. Fortunately, I made it."

NBA TV highlights from Wizards-Bulls: 56k | 300k Marcus Fizer recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds and team-high tying 19 points. Noren Trotman NBAE/Getty Images

Best finished just 2-of-7 from the field.

"The Bulls were in control the whole way," Wizards coach Doug Collins said. "This was the kind of game that you can steal late. The one thing that hurt us down the stretch was that we took three jump shots after we had them in the penalty. We should have come down and just gone at them."

Washington has lost both its games since Michael Jordan -- who led Chicago to six NBA championships in the 1980s -- was placed on the injured list and underwent arthroscopic knee surgery.

The Wizards fell to 1-9 after the All-Star break and to 0-4 overall this season without Jordan in the lineup.

The Wizards jumped out to a 12-2 lead on a reverse layup by Hamilton with 7:40 remaining in the opening quarter. But the Bulls stormed back with a 32-8 run into the second quarter, taking the lead for good at 19-16 on a layup and free throw by Fizer with 1:15 left in the first period.

Although the Bulls shot just 42 percent (33-of-79) from the field, they limited the Wizards to 37 percent (30-of-82).

"We should use this game as a great example of how we should be playing where we struggle a little bit offensively but our defense holds us," Bulls coach Bill Cartwright said. "That really came true late in the game when we were kind of floundering around looking for baskets. We were just not shooting the ball as well as we had. Our defense held up."

Hamilton scored 30 points to pace Washington, which lost eight in a row earlier this season. Chris Whitney had 11 points and Christian Laettner 10, but no other players reached double f igures.

The Wizards played without centers Jahidi White (strained left shoulder) and Brendan Haywood (sore left knee).

Without having to face either of the two big men, Curry matched his previous season highs in points (16) and rebounds (12) by halftime.

"Curry killed us in the first half," Collins said. "He had 16 points and almost as many boards. Without Jahidi and Brendan out there as our centers, we're going to get hurt because we're not a strong, tough team."

"My confidence is real high right now," said Curry, whose team has won four of six since acquiring Best and Jalen Rose from Indiana last week. "It is just the beginning for us and this team. For our team to win I have to continue to play well."

Fellow rookie 7-footer Tyson Chandler hyperextended his left pinky late in the first quarter, was given three stitches and did not return.

Kwame Brown, who last year became the first high school player to be selected with the top pick in the NBA draft, played 21 minutes off the bench but had just three points. Brown was activated off the injured list earlier this week to take the roster spot of Jordan.

Courtney Alexander, another player the Wizards need production from in order to compensate for Jordan's absence, had just two points on 1-of-6 shooting.

"Michael is not going to be here," Collins said. "We need to know that and go on. This is growing up time. The Bulls are doing it now and their young guys are playing. Now we need to have some of our young guys perform for us."