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Wizards at Bulls final score: Washington loses 102-82

There’s a reason why fans aren’t confident in the Wizards overcoming the odds.

Washington Wizards v Chicago Bulls Photo by Michael Reaves/Getty Images

The Washington Wizards lost 102-82 to the Chicago Bulls on Sunday afternoon on the road. It is their second straight loss coming out of the All-Star Break.

Washington led 27-25 after the first quarter. But from there, it was all Chicago. The Wizards turned the ball over 16 times which turned into 25 Bulls points. Meanwhile, the Bulls committed just 8 turnovers.

No wonder why this game didn’t go the Wizards’ way.

To add insult to injury, the Bulls didn’t break things open until the fourth quarter. So despite EVERYTHING BEFORE, the Wizards still had a chance to come out ahead on paper.

DeMar DeRozan led the Bulls with 29 points while Zach LaVine added 27 points for the Bulls. Bradley Beal scored 18 points to lead the Wizards.

If there’s a reason why many Wizards fans aren’t buying into the team’s stated goal of making the playoffs, this two-game stretch is why. Washington is notorious for being consistent for … inconsistency. They tend to falter right at a moment where they could REALLY turn things around. Again, many fans think this team should be tanking. And for what it’s worth, I don’t disagree with that.

Instead, the Wizards are dead set on trying to make the playoffs this season, which will likely cost them a top draft pick. And when that decision to rebuild comes, that process will probably just that much more painful.

To be fair to Bradley Beal, Kyle Kuzma and Kristaps Porzingis, they have had their moments. The Wizards were really close to .500 last week. But that momentum had to stay coming out of the break. Instead, Washington lost two games against teams that are close to them in the standings. And that makes a home game for the play-in that much more difficult.

Not to mention, it keeps the “haters,” “#SoWizardsTwitter” and anyone else who is skeptical feeling the way they are. The Wizards simply blew an opportunity to prove those fans wrong, in a good way. Unfortunately, those fans are more likely to be right.

Washington will continue their road trip this Tuesday for their next game against the Atlanta Hawks. Tip off is at 7:30 p.m. ET. See you then.