National Basketball Association

Butler scores 37, Bulls beat Wizards 106-95

Published Nov. 13, 2016 12:08 a.m. ET

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CHICAGO (AP) Whether he had the Chicago Bulls on his shoulders or not, Jimmy Butler couldn't deny this. He sure gave them the lift they needed.

Butler scored 37 points, and Chicago beat the short-handed Washington Wizards 106-95 on Saturday night.

He took charge when the Bulls needed it, helping them pull away on a night when the Wizards were missing star guards John Wall and Bradley Beal.

Butler finished two points shy of a season high he set against Atlanta on Wednesday. He hit all 14 free throws, grabbed eight rebounds and dished out a season-high nine assists.

''I don't consider that carrying,'' Butler said. ''I consider that making some shots and doing what they need me to do. That's being aggressive.''

Butler showed it early on and helped the Bulls put away the Wizards in the second half, though he did have some help.

Nikola Mirotic came on strong to finish with 17 points. Dwyane Wade scored 14. Taj Gibson chipped in with 13 points, and Robin Lopez added 10 points and 13 rebounds.

The Bulls won back-to-back games for the first time since a 3-0 start, but forward Doug McDermott exited with a concussion early in the fourth quarter.

Markieff Morris had a season-high 24 points after scoring 20 the previous night. Marcin Gortat added 18 points and 14 rebounds.

Sheldon McClellan scored 15 with Beal missing his second straight game because of a sore right hamstring. Tomas Satoransky chipped in with 12 points and nine assists filling in at point guard for Wall, who scored 28 in Friday's loss to Cleveland, and the Wizards fell to 0-4 on the road.

''We got to play better,'' Gortat said. ''We got to compete. We need energy. We need effort. We got to make shots There's a lot of things that we can do better. I mean right now, as far as I know I think we have one of the worst benches in the league right now.''

Washington's reserves got outscored 32-18, though McClellan and Satoransky were in the lineup with Beal and Wall out.

BUTLER'S LIFT

Butler got off to a scorching start with 21 points in the first half and kept it going with 11 more in the third to help the Bulls turn a 56-53 deficit into an 81-70 lead.

''When you've got a guy who is obviously an All-Star in this league but he's right in the prime of his career, my job and (Rajon) Rondo's job and everybody's job is to get the best out of him,'' Wade said. ''Right now, we're seeing it - and he sees it, too - how great he can be.''

Leading 70-68 with about three minutes left in the third, Butler hit two free throws, a layup and a step-back jumper with 1:19 left.

In the closing minute, Wizards coach Scott Brooks jumped off the bench and got called for a technical when Jason Smith fouled a dunking Gibson. McDermott made the technical free throw. Gibson missed his foul shot, but hit a layup to make it an 11-point game.

FOUL PLAY

McDermott was in the air going for a layup or dunk in the opening minute of the fourth when a rotating Morris hit his left arm and sent him crashing to the floor. McDermott banged his head in a hard fall that quieted the crowd.

He walked off the court and headed back into the concussion protocol after missing a game 10 days earlier.

Morris got called for a flagrant foul 1, and Mirotic hit two free throws.

''That was a regular old-school foul,'' Gibson said. ''But the way Doug took off, he left himself out in the open. ... I don't think nobody really tries to hurt anybody. It's one of those plays.''

TIP-INS

Wizards: Wall, coming off surgery on both knees, isn't playing in both halves of back-to-back sets. Coach Scott Brooks said that could change after the Wizards play Philadelphia and New York on Wednesday and Thursday. ... Beal is day to day.

Bulls: Coach Fred Hoiberg said that Carter-Williams has not experienced any setbacks in his recovery from a bruised left knee and sprained left wrist. Carter-Williams was expected to miss four to six weeks after taking a hard fall at Brooklyn on Oct. 31.

UP NEXT

Wizards: Visit Philadelphia on Wednesday.

Bulls: The Bulls play six straight on the road, starting with Tuesday's game at Portland.