FINAL FROM THE UNITED CENTER: Bulls 113 (26-51, 16-22 at home) Washington 94.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: Markkanen 23 points. Wizards: Beal: 15 points. LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Vonleh: 8. Wizards: Gortat: 6LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Grant: 7. Wizards: Satoransky: 6.
CCI 24 SECONDS COMMENTARY: From the opening tip it was all business for the Bulls. For the second straight game, Lauri Markkanen set the tone draining three point field goals. The Bulls held Washington to 35 second half points. Whether it was fatigue / travel or no John Wall, the Wizards came out flat and played with little if any sense of urgency. The Bulls played with energy and when the three ball is going down the pipe, it's a beautiful thing. Markkanen and Bobby Portis combined for nine of the Bulls 18-3s. The Bulls have won back to back games with the Hornets coming to town Tuesday.
Wishing Head Coach Fred Hoiberg all the best. He missed the game as he is battling a severe cold. Associate Head Coach Jim Boylen handled the duties.
CCI STAT OF THE NIGHT: 30. The Bulls were dropping plenty of dimes at the expense of the Wizards. 30 assists on 43 buckets..are you serious? Yes, I am!
Up next: Home with Charlotte Tuesday.
NBA NEWS AND NOTES
The game of the night in the NBA: Denver 128 Milwaukee 125 OT. The Nuggets with a furious fourth quarter rally, down by eight in the final minute, sent the game into OT. Nikola Jokic with a 35-13 game. Jamal Murray scored 18 of his 27 points in the third quarter. Giannis fouled out. Denver moved to within one game of the eight seed Pelicans.
San Antonio 100 Houston 83. The Spurs held the Rockets to their lowest scoring game of the season ending Houston's 11 game win streak.
Philadelphia 119 Hornets 102. Make it ten straight wins for the Sixers. The 76ers had 36 assists. They've registered 30 or more assists in nine straight games. Being a hoops fan in Philadelphia is pretty cool now with the success of the 76ers and the excellence of the Villanova program under Jay Wright.
Cavaliers 98 Dallas 87. LeBron James with his 17th triple- double of the season of 16-13-12. Kevin Love posted his 400th career double -double. The 7th active player to reach that mark.
Detroit 108 Brooklyn 96. That's five straight wins for the Pistons. Too little, too late? The Pistons trail eight seed Miami by four games with five left.
Indiana 111 LAC 104. The Pacers are now 15 games over.500. They rallied from a 16 point deficit to win their fifth straight game. Victor Oladipo scored 30 points and had 12 assists.
OKC 109 NOLA 104: Russell Westbrook with a triple double of 26-15-13. The Pelicans have lost four straight; not a good time for a losing streak.
In Minnesota, Utah smashed the T-Wolves 121-97. Great stat on rookie sensation, Donovan Mitchell; his streak of nine straight 20-point games is the most by a rookie guard since Allen Iverson (11) in 1996-97.
Golden State 117 Phoenix 107. That's loss #59 for the Suns. Encouraging news for Patrick McCaw and the Warriors and the NBA family, as McCaw, who took a horrific fall to the floor against the Kings on Saturday, was released from the hospital after undergoing a series of tests.
Portland 113 Memphis 88. The Trailblazers earned their fifth straight playoff appearance. Portland is 16-3 since the All Star break.
Sacramento 84 Lakers 83. The Kings end a four game slide.
In the, "Somebody Had to Win" game of the night, Atlanta beat Orlando 94-88.
Miami fined center Hassan Whiteside an undisclosed amount of money for "comments detrimental to the team" in response to remarks Whiteside made expressing frustration with his role.
Congratulations to the Notre Dame women's hoops program with a dramatic victory over Mississippi State.
Tonight, the NBA takes the even off as they celebrate the college game with the national championship on the line: Michigan vs. Villanova. My heart says Michigan. My head says Nova.
Thanks for reading CCI. E mail me at cswirsky@bulls.com Twitter: @ctsbulls.