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Wednesday, Jan. 5 8:30pm ET
Kukoc returns after 2-month absence | |||||
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 GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) -- All the Chicago Bulls needed was Toni Kukoc. Playing in his first game in almost two months, Kukoc hit his first four shots and finished with a team-high 18 points Wednesday night as the Bulls beat the Washington Wizards 77-66, snapping an 11-game losing streak.
"I went in the game confident," said Kukoc, who was taken off the injured list a few hours before the game after missing the last 24 because of lingering back spasms. "The first 12 minutes, I had the energy, I felt the shot right away, a couple went in and I just got going. But I ran out of gas," he said. "I haven't practiced in a long time and I really have to work in the next week to get myself into basketball shape." Still, for a guy who wasn't even practicing until last week, he did all right. Though he was just 7-of-26 from the floor, he had 11 rebounds, five assists, two steals and two blocked shots in 39 minutes. His presence gave the woeful Bulls a desperately needed boost, and they responded with a night of highs. Despite only dressing nine players, they never trailed, scored their most points in a first quarter (29), set a season-high for biggest lead (19 points) and won for the first time since Dec. 10. "It wasn't a great showing of shooting, but I think I played a good game," Kukoc said. "Nothing spectacular, but a good, overall basketball game." The same definitely can't be said for the Wizards, who were a dismal 24-of-84 (29 percent) from the floor. Their 66 points were a franchise low, "topping" the 69 they scored against Houston on March 26, 1993. It also was the second-lowest total in the NBA this season, behind the 63 scored by Chicago on Monday against Portland. "If they're not embarrassed, they should be," Washington coach Gar Heard said. "We were beaten from the field and in every phase of the game." The Bulls being the Bulls, though, they had to give their fans a late gut-check. After a goaltending call gave Chicago a 66-52 lead at the end of the third-quarter, the Wizards suddenly got interested in the game. They opened the fourth quarter with an 11-0 run, including five points from Tracy Murray, to close to 66-63 with 8:16 left to play. But that was the only enthusiasm Washington could muster. They went almost nine minutes without a field goal, while Elton Brand then went on his own run, scoring six points in a 2:20 span to put Chicago back up 73-63 with 1:51 left. After that, all that was left was the celebrating. "Relieved, that's the word I used," Bulls coach Tim Floyd said. "One a month, right? You hope we can play off this, get some confidence." Brand finished with 16 points and 16 rebounds for the Bulls. Fellow rookie Ron Artest had 16 points, and Simpkins had nine points to go with his 10 rebounds. Murray led the Wizards with 18 points, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. Juwan Howard, who had 12, was the only other Wizard in double figures. Rod Strickland was 0-of-9 from the floor. "We just played really bad," Strickland said. With Kukoc leading the way, the Bulls looked like a real NBA team for the first 2+ quarters. He nailed a 13-foot jumper about 20 seconds into the game, made three more shots, two free throws and had an assist as Chicago jumped out to a 16-6 lead. He didn't miss a shot until there was four minutes left in the first quarter. Though Kukoc had expected only to play about 25 minutes, he said he didn't mind staying in as long as he did. "When we have a chance to win games like this, it doesn't really matter," he said. "You don't sense the fatigue right away. Now it's pretty bad and I'll need a lot of rest before the next game. "I hope I'm going to get the day off tomorrow."
Game notes | ALSO SEE NBA Scoreboard Washington Clubhouse Chicago Clubhouse New, improved Bulls? At least they have Kukoc back
RECAPS Philadelphia 113 Golden State 92
Chicago 77
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