Washington, DC (Sports Network) - Ben Gordon scored all of his 21 points in the second half, and the Chicago Bulls held off a pesky Washington Wizards squad for a 101-99 triumph at the Verizon Center.
John Salmons had 19 points and Derrick Rose netted 12 with eight assists and five rebounds. Kirk Hinrich also checked in with 12 points for Chicago, which continues to hold down the eighth and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference with wins in four of the last five games.
Antawn Jamison went off for 34 points and grabbed 12 boards as Washington kicked off a three-game homestand after having just finished a winless four-game road trip. Washington has lost 12 of its last 14 games overall.
Javaris Crittenton scored 18 with seven rebounds and five assists and Andray Blatche added 15 points and 13 rebounds in defeat.
Wizards forward Caron Butler (hamstring) missed his sixth straight game and Darius Songaila (pinched nerve) was also relegated to the bench.
A Salmons three-pointer early in the fourth re-established a 10-point Chicago lead but the Wizards came back to score the next seven points capped by a Jamison three.
Tim Thomas countered with a three-pointer to spark a 9-1 Chicago spurt that allowed for an 88-77 lead with close to six minutes remaining.
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Jamison, though, single-handedly brought Washington back to within three by scoring eight straight points on the other end. Consecutive layups, the latter of which resulted in a three-point play, were followed by a triple that made the score 88-85 with a shade under four minutes to go.
The Bulls went on to score 10 of the next 14 points with Gordon sinking a trio of jump shots as the visitors went up 98-89 with 1:43 on the clock.
Washington kept hanging around as Mike James drilled a three-pointer and Jamison hit two at the line for a 98-94 game. Moments later, following a missed Hinrich three, Dominic McGuire found a streaking JaVale McGee in the lane for an easy two with 29.1 ticks left.
Rose came back for Chicago and dribbled around a double-team to find Hinrich cutting baseline for the easy deuce and a 100-96 edge with 8.9 on the clock.
Young buried a three, though, out of a Wizards timeout, making it a one-point game with the clock showing 2.6 for a 100-99 score. Gordon was only able to get one in an ensuing trip to the line but a last-second heave was well off the mark and the Bulls escaped with the win.
The Wizards jumped out to a 27-19 advantage after 12 minutes and held on to a 47-41 edge at the break.
Chicago turned the tables on Washington in the second half, though, and used an 18-2 run to take a six-point lead, 61-55, with 5 1/2 minutes left in the third. Tyrus Thomas and Salmons went for four points each on the surge.
A Gordon jumper gave the Bulls their largest lead to that point at 72-62 with 1:03 to go before a Jamison three and Crittenton slam helped trim the deficit to seven, 74-67, after three quarters.
