Wizards vs. Bulls final score: Shorthanded Bulls take down the Wizards, 109-104

Just when it looks like the Wizards have turned the corner, they put in this type of effort. The Bulls were without Jimmy Butler, Derrick Rose, and Nikola Mirotic but still beat the Wizards 109-104. This is a bad loss for the Wizards who are jockeying for that eighth playoff spot.

Garrett Temple broke out of his shooting slump as he knocked down two three-pointers in the first quarter. This was a promising sign as Temple has struggled with his jumper as of late.

Unfortunately, John Wall picked up his second foul of the game at the 5:33 mark of the first quarter and was forced to the bench. Ramon Sessions filled in nicely with seven points in his first five minutes of play as the Wizards led 31-28 after one.

Taj Gibson was a man on a mission in the first half scoring 17 points on 6-9 shooting. Dudley had no answer for Gibson down low and the Wizards were forced to switch Markieff Morris onto him.

The Bulls' guards were able to get into the paint for easy buckets too as they led 57-55 at halftime.

The Bulls then hit their first eight shots of the second half to stretch this lead out to 13, 81-68. Doug McDermott drove baseline past a sleepwalking Wall to dunk over Markieff Morris and it had you thinking; "It's that kind of night huh?"

The Wizards would cut the lead to three on an Alan Anderson three-pointer early in the fourth quarter but would get no closer. Wizards fall to the Bulls, 109-104.

Wizards waste an outstanding performance from the bench: The Wizards' bench scored 55 points tonight but it was all for naught. John Wall was forced to the bench early as he committed his second foul at the 5:33 mark of the first quarter. Ramon Sessions came right in and per usual, was in attack mode. Sessions scored 10 points in relief of Wall in the first half and finished with 16 for the game. Alan Anderson played 16 minutes tonight in his first game back from injury and scored nine points on 3-4 shooting including a key bucket in the fourth quarter which cut the Bulls' lead to three.

Wizards revert back to old defensive ways: The pre-All Star break Wizards' defense reared it's ugly head tonight as the Bulls shot 50 percent from the field. The team looked uninterested in playing defense and resorted to reaching for the ball rather moving their feet. The Bulls scored 54 points in the paint and the Wizards had no answer for Taj Gibson in the first half who did his damage down low against Dudley on the block. In the second half, it was the Bulls' guards cutting to the hole for uncontested layups. Lastly, I counted at least four instances where Wall let his man drive by him and he'd try to poke the ball out from behind; that clearly didn't work.

Bobby Portis Vs. Kelly Oubre Jr.: Heading into the 2015 draft, it was clear that the Wizards needed a young stretch four and Portis was sitting there when the Wizards made their selection. Ultimately, they went with Kelly Oubre Jr. Is it too early to draw conclusions? Absolutely. But, you can see the potential with Portis. He didn't put up gaudy stats as he had just five points and seven rebounds in 20 minutes. But he plays hard, is physical, and is aggressive around the rim. Meanwhile, Kelly Oubre Jr. is sitting on the bench.