Washington Wizards (2-1) beat Chicago Bulls (1-2) 124-120 on the road on Saturday, October 24 in a game that stayed within 15 points at every quarter break.
How it stayed close
The lead changed hands 2 times between quarter breaks. The Wizards were ahead by 15 going into the fourth and held on.
The edge that mattered
The Wizards recovered 25.5% of their own misses against 19.6% for the Bulls and the Wizards shot 52.6% on an effective basis to 49.5% for the Bulls. Extra possessions add up quickly over 48 minutes.
The Bulls did win one battle, the free-throw line: FT rate of 30.1 against 25.3. The Wizards made up for it elsewhere.
The game played at about 109 possessions per team. The Wizards scored 114 points per 100 possessions and the Bulls scored 110.3, a difference of 3.7.
The Wizards' reserves also made a difference, outscoring the opposing bench 40-28.
Who made the difference
Caleb Wilson (CHI) posted the best line of the night by Game Score (26.2): 30 pts, 14 reb, 3 ast on 10-24 shooting. The team was +14 in the minutes Caleb played.
For the Wizards, Trae Young was the best of the rest at 22.6: 25 pts, 4 reb, 9 ast on 6-13 shooting.
Caleb Wilson (30 pts, 14 reb, 3 ast) and Justin Champagnie (11 pts, 14 reb, 4 ast) each recorded a double-double.
Game Score is a single number that weighs points, rebounds, assists, steals, blocks, shooting efficiency, fouls and turnovers. It is not an official stat, just a quick way to rank lines.
What it means
By our Win Meter this was an upset: The Wizards entered with about a 24% chance.
Across the last 7 meetings in our records, Chicago Bulls lead 6-1.
The Wizards are now 2-1, and the Bulls are 1-2. The Wizards last five before this game: L-L-L-W-L.
Written automatically by Tip Off Live software from box score data. Ratings and probabilities are our own model estimates.