Hot-Shooting Dixon Leads Wizards Past Bulls
This article is from the archive of The New York Sun before the launch of its new website in 2022. The Sun has neither altered nor updated such articles but will seek to correct any errors, mis-categorizations or other problems introduced during transfer.
WASHINGTON – A blocked 3-point attempt on the first possession, an intercepted pass on the second, and a steal on the third.
Who said Washington doesn’t have a defense?
The Wizards wouldn’t let the Bulls anywhere near the rim in the opening minutes last night, rattling their opponents early and often in a 106-99 victory that evened their first-round playoff series at two games apiece.
Juan Dixon, who appealed for his coach’s faith in a parking lot powwow after a 1-for-10 performance in Game 3, scored a career-high 35 points, popping endless jumpers to help build the lead early and stave off the comeback threat late.
Game 5 is tomorrow night in Chicago in a series in which the home team is 4-0, hardly surprising given both teams’ youth and postseason inexperience.
Kirk Hinrich and Jannero Pargo scored 18 points each to lead the Bulls, whose backups made the game somewhat interesting with a 13-0 fourth quarter run that cut the lead to 13 – then a 8-0 run that trimmed the lead to eight with 1:07 remaining. Pargo even cut the deficit to six with a 3-pointer with 24 seconds remaining.
The Bulls, though, were trying to recover from a 28-point deficit, and they simply ran out of time.
The game was virtually decided by an opening sequence that saw the Wizards jump out to a 14-point lead by the end of the first quarter.
The Bulls didn’t even get a rebound until Antonio Davis pulled one down more than 4 1/2 minutes into the game. By then, the score was 17-3.They didn’t get a field goal until Hinrich drove for a layup with more than five minutes elapsed. The score was 29-15 after one quarter and 61-37 at halftime.
When the Bulls did get open looks, they often missed badly. Andres Nocioni threw up a brick in the first quarter, Davis missed a simple tip-in in the second, and Tyson Chandler missed twice while under the rim late in the half.
When it was over, Hinrich was 6-for-17 from the field. Ben Gordon, who has been bothered by a cold, went 1-for-13. Pargo was 6-for-17. Chris Duhon, bothered by back spasms during the morning shoot around, started but played just nine minutes and didn’t score.
