John Wall scored 24 points to lead the Washington Wizards to a 75-69 victory over the Chicago Bulls and into the second round of the NBA playoffs.
Wall added seven rebounds and four assists in the victory, which gave the Wizards a 4-1 triumph over the Bulls in the best-of-seven Eastern Conference first-round series.
Washington’s Brazilian big man Nene, who returned after serving his one-game suspension for grabbing the head of Chicago’s Jimmy Butler’s in game three, scored 20 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Bradley Beal added 17 points for the Wizards, who are in the playoffs for the first time since 2008 and last won a post-season series in 2005, when they beat the Bulls in the first round.
The fifth-seeded Wizards will face either Indiana or Atlanta in the second round.
Kirk Hinrich and Butler netted 16 points apiece for the Bulls, who shot just 33.3 percent from the floor and scored just 11 points in the third quarter.
Chicago lost Taj Gibson to a sprained left ankle in the fourth quarter. Gibson hit the court holding his ankle after he tried to block Wall and apparently came down on the Washington player’s foot.
Chicago’s NBA Defensive Player of the Year Joakim Noah also appeared to be hobbled in the second half, massaging his right thigh above the knee.
Noah still managed six points, seven assists and 18 rebounds, but it wasn’t enough to stave off elimination for a Bulls team that started the season buoyed by the return of star Derrick Rose, only for Rose to suffer another season-ending knee injury in November.
The Bulls didn’t go down without a fight. Trailing by nine going into the final quarter, Chicago pulled within 72-69 after D.J. Augustin’s two free throws with 2:18 to play, but the Bulls couldn’t get over the hump.