It was Wizards vs. Bulls on Saturday night and the only Jordan in attendance was some guy named Eddie. It was two teams with fewer combined wins than Tim Floyd’s New Orleans Hornets, both ranking near the bottom of the NBA in virtually every offensive and defensive category.
What this game needed was one of those boxing ring announcers. To make it matter. Like, “The Battle for the Bottom!” Or “Cellar Showdown!”
In the end, it was the Wizards who sunk to the bottom in a 100-86 Bulls victory. It was the Bulls’ ninth victory, assuring they would finish the season with more wins than the Bears. It also provided the Wizards and Bulls memories of a night with Michael Jordan.
“I want to be that guy to step up,” Jamal Crawford said.
Crawford did. He may come in a smaller package, thinner and less imposing than Jordan, but the results were familiar to Bulls fans. Crawford set a career high with 42 points, 15 in the fourth quarter when the Bulls broke open a close game.
It gave Crawford 72 points in back-to-back wins after Crawford had been 14-for-54 in the three previous games. Crawford shot 16-of-27 Saturday.
His previous high was 33, and his 42 points were the most by a Bull since Jalen Rose scored 44 on March 16, 2002.
“I knew I couldn’t miss forever,” said Crawford, who also had six assists, four rebounds and four steals in the most impressive effort of his brief career. “I knew I was due. I didn’t do anything different, but my teammates did a great job of finding me. They’re putting me in position where I can score easily.”
But Crawford was being gracious. Without his outburst, much of which came on individual effort, the Bulls probably wouldn’t have matched a stumbling Wizards team with top scorers Gilbert Arenas and Jerry Stackhouse missing.
Larry Hughes scored 22 to lead Washington, which slipped behind the Bulls in the standings at 8-20 by losing eight of nine. The Bulls are 9-20.
“Jamal had a hot hand and really bailed us out,” Bulls coach Scott Skiles said.
And it wasn’t like the Bulls didn’t need it. Despite the final score, and against a lineup of mostly rookies and bench players, the Bulls led by two at halftime and were down 58-51 midway through the third quarter.
“I wasn’t happy with the first few minutes of the third quarter,” Skiles said. “But I like that we are showing some good signs.”
One of those signs is not giving up after being overtaken. The Bulls got a boost from Antonio Davis in the third after flinging up a bunch of jumpers.
“Antonio carried us in the third quarter,” Crawford said. “I love playing with those guys. Nothing against Jalen [Rose] and Donyell [Marshall]. Everyone said that trade would hurt us as far as scoring. But they bring so much other stuff, defense and rebounding. It opened up shots on the perimeter.”
And Crawford took advantage, raining jumpers on the Wizards. He had eight points in the final three minutes of the third and 15 points in the fourth, including two three-pointers. His first of the quarter, with just under 10 minutes left, gave the Bulls an 18-point lead and enabled them to coast to the finish.
“When a guy who can really shoot it gets going, you let him get it going,” Skiles said. “When he is active (steals and good defense on Hughes), he’s a heck of a player.”
Crawford got a nice ovation when he left with 1:19 left after playing 42 minutes on the heels of 48 Friday. He hugged Skiles, and you couldn’t get the smile off his face.
“It feels great,” Crawford said. “It feels even better that we got the win. It’s not always going to be my night, but I’m happy, my teammates are happy, there’s no jealousy. My ankle still bothers me a little bit. I can’t wait until I’m 100 percent.”
