Game analysis: Washington Wizards at Chicago Bulls
How the Wizards Beat the Bulls
Washington's paint attack powered a third-quarter takeover that Chicago could not undo. The Wizards flipped a five-point halftime deficit into a 15-point lead by outscoring the Bulls by 20 in the third quarter. Trae Young scored a team-high 25 points with nine assists, while Kyshawn George added 22 points, nine rebounds and four blocks. Chicago cut a 21-point fourth-quarter deficit to three with 23.3 seconds left, but Washington converted six points from there to preserve the win despite being heavily outscored in transition.
The biggest reason
Paint Dominance
Points in the paintWSH 62vsCHI 54
Also mattered
+5%Field-goal shooting
+14Points off turnovers
+6Blocks
Game flow
When the lead changed
WSH (away)CHI (home)
WSH's biggest lead was 21 points · CHI's was 10 points · 12 lead changes
Quarter-by-quarter momentum
Quarter winners and scoring margin
Q1
WSH28
CHI27
WSH won by 1
Q2
WSH29
CHI35
CHI won by 6
Q3Biggest margin
WSH40
CHI20
WSH won by 20
Q4
WSH27
CHI38
CHI won by 11
Game turning points
Moments identified from the scoring timeline
Largest deficitQ1 · 4:35
Washington Wizards trailed by 10 at its deepest point before going on to win.
WSH 14–CHI 24
Final lead changeQ3 · 9:50
Washington Wizards went ahead and did not trail again.
WSH 66–CHI 64
Momentum swings
Key stretches
6 stretches · runs and momentum swings
Q1 · 10:44–4:35
Chicago Bulls22–9stretch
WSH 5 – CHI 2→WSH 14 – CHI 24
Q1 · 4:35–1:31
Washington Wizards12–0run
WSH 14 – CHI 24→WSH 26 – CHI 24
Q2 · 8:43–4:44
Washington Wizards13–4stretch
WSH 35 – CHI 39→WSH 48 – CHI 43
Q2 · 4:44–2:02
Chicago Bulls17–2stretch
WSH 48 – CHI 43→WSH 50 – CHI 60
Q3 · 10.0–2:00Biggest stretch
Washington Wizards36–13stretch
WSH 57 – CHI 62→WSH 93 – CHI 75
Q4 · 10:34–23.3
Chicago Bulls33–15stretch
WSH 103 – CHI 82→WSH 118 – CHI 115
Players who shaped the game
Player impact
From the box score
Washington Wizards
WSH
Leading scorerTrae Young
25PTS4REB9AST0STL0BLK
Impact contributorKyshawn George
22PTS9REB5AST0STL4BLK
Impact contributorJustin Champagnie
11PTS14REB4AST1STL0BLK
Chicago Bulls
CHI
Leading scorerCaleb Wilson
30PTS14REB3AST2STL1BLK
Impact contributorJosh Giddey
9PTS8REB10AST1STL0BLK
Impact contributorNorman Powell
18PTS2REB3AST4STL0BLK
Team performance
Biggest advantages and setbacks
What the winner did best—and what it overcame
Advantages
BlocksWinner edge
Washington Wizards had a 6 edge in blocks.
WSH 7CHI 1
Points off turnoversWinner edge
Washington Wizards had a 14 edge in points off turnovers.
WSH 22CHI 8
Field-goal shootingWinner edge
Washington Wizards had a 5 percentage points edge in field-goal shooting.
WSH 48%CHI 43%
Setbacks
Fast-break pointsOpponent edge
Washington Wizards trailed in fast-break points by 25.
WSH 9CHI 34
StealsOpponent edge
Washington Wizards trailed in steals by 5.
WSH 5CHI 10
Free-throw shootingOpponent edge
Washington Wizards trailed in free-throw shooting by 7 percentage points.
WSH 86%CHI 93%
The numbers behind the win
Evidence
4 signals
Paint scoring
Washington created a meaningful interior scoring advantage that helped drive its offense.
WSH62
CHI54
Shooting efficiency
The Wizards converted their field-goal attempts at a higher rate despite Chicago's major transition advantage.
WSH48%
CHI43%
Points off turnovers
Washington extracted substantially more scoring from opponent mistakes even though it committed two more turnovers overall.
WSH22
CHI8
Editorial turning point
Washington outscored Chicago by 20 in the third quarter
The Wizards turned a five-point halftime deficit into a 15-point lead, took control for good and never surrendered the lead afterward.
This game’s Winning DNA
How Washington Wizards got it done.
The winning formula behind this game.
Washington Wizards
Paint Dominance
35%
Superstar Performance
25%
Rebounding
20%
Playmaking
20%
Editorial weights for this game — not fan-vote percentages or official NBA statistics.
Team Comparison
Washington Wizards124 PTSVSUnited CenterChicago Bulls120 PTS
45-94
FG
40-93
10-33
3PT
12-43
24-28
FT
28-30
48
REB
44
28
AST
25
5
STL
10
7
BLK
1
14
TO
12
The Debate
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