Young, George Steal Chicago's Home Opener, 124-120
Washington walked out of Chicago with a 124-120 win despite Caleb Wilson dropping 30 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulls. Trae Young and Kyshawn George had other ideas, combining for 47 points, 13 rebounds, and 14 assists to keep the Wizards ahead when it mattered most.
Chicago looked like the sharper team through most of the first quarter. After Washington jumped out 7-2 on back-to-back Anthony Davis alley-oop dunks — both set up by Young and Alex Sarr — the Bulls rattled off 15 straight points. Norman Powell buried a 24-footer, Caleb Wilson threw down a driving dunk, and Matas Buzelis added a running dunk and a step-back to push it to 17-7. Washington clawed back, but Chicago kept answering, and the quarter ended in a 28-27 Washington edge only because Deandre Ayton tipped one in with 0.2 seconds left on the clock — a sequence that, in hindsight, looks like it set the tone for how tight this one would stay.
The second quarter opened with the lead changing hands repeatedly. Buzelis converted two free throws to put Chicago up, Young answered with a 24-foot step-back three, and the Bulls responded again through Jalen Smith. Then came the moment that swung the game's probability most sharply: Norman Powell's second free throw of a three-shot trip at 9:35 of the second quarter pushed Chicago's home win probability from 51% to 59% — an 8-point swing. Powell finished with 18 points and 4 steals, and for a stretch, it genuinely appeared Chicago had the upper hand. But Washington kept punching back, with Bub Carrington drilling a 26-footer to pull within one at 38-39 before the half.
The story of the night, ultimately, was Washington's depth and versatility winning out over Wilson's heroics. Wilson's 30-point, 14-rebound performance was the kind of line that usually wins games, and Buzelis added 21 points off efficient shooting. But Kyshawn George's 22 points, 9 rebounds, 5 assists, and 4 blocks gave Washington a two-way engine Chicago couldn't match, and Young's 25 points and 9 assists kept the offense humming in the clutch. Anthony Davis chipped in 19 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists to round out a balanced Washington attack that proved too much to contain. Khris Middleton sat out as a coach's decision for Chicago, and Washington also held out several players by coach's decision — but neither team's absences appear to have been the deciding factor. Washington was simply the better team on this night, 124-120.