Hot-Shooting Dixon Leads Wizards Past Bulls

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.

Hot-Shooting Dixon Leads Wizards Past Bulls

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