The Washington Wizards travelled into the Windy City last night to face the Chicago Bulls. Wizards forward, Nenê, put the team on his back, scoring 24 points and recording 8 rebounds. The six foot eleven Brazilian helped the Wizards in a 30-18 run in the fourth quarter to secure the victory on the road. With a little help from Trevor Ariza and John Wall, the Wizards had no problem taking on the higher seed Bulls. 

Don’t expect the Bulls to roll over and die. With Defensive Player of the Year candidate, Joakim Noah, the Bulls are looking to shut down Nenê and get the victory in Game 2. Times like these make Bulls fans seriously miss their injured star player, Derrick Rose. Rose’s replacement, Kirk Hinrich, rose to the challenge tonight by leading the Bulls in points with 16.

This isn’t the first time these two Eastern squads have squared off in the playoffs. The last time these two teams met in the post-season the Wizards secured the series in Game 6, winning the series 4-2. If the support Washington received from their big men like Marcin Gortat, it’s very likely that their success will carry over to Game 2. Check out the second game of the series this Tuesday at 9:30 PM EST on TNT. 

– Tyler Mullins, @Tmullins101