Caleb Wilson's 30 and 14 in his United Center debut can't stop a 40-20 Wizards third quarter in a 124-120 Bulls loss
The No. 4 pick's first double-double came with 11 fourth-quarter points, but Chicago went 12 of 43 from three and Trae Young made all 9 of his free throws.
Photo: ESPN. Caleb Wilson, Chicago Bulls forward, official player headshot.
The Wizards beat the Bulls 124-120 on Saturday at the United Center, and rookie Caleb Wilson finished with 30 points and 14 rebounds in Chicago's home opener. It was the first career double-double for the No. 4 pick in the draft, per AP, and it came on a night Washington won the third quarter 40-20.
Wilson's line
Wilson made 10 of 24 shots, 1 of 9 from three and 9 of 11 free throws in 38 minutes, per the ESPN box score. He had four offensive rebounds, 10 defensive, three assists, two steals, one block and zero turnovers. His plus-minus was plus-14 in a four-point loss, tied with Kyshawn George for second-best in the game behind Justin Champagnie's plus-18 for Washington.
By ESPN's play-by-play, he scored 7 in the first quarter, 10 in the second, 2 in the third and 11 in the fourth. The second-quarter burst built Chicago's best stretch: his fast-break dunk with 2:02 left in the half capped a 10-0 run and made it 60-50, per AP. He added a putback reverse jam with 56 seconds left, but Tre Johnson's three in the final seconds sent the Bulls to the break up only 62-57.
Where the game turned
The third quarter was even at 64 with 10:17 left after a Trae Young three, per ESPN play-by-play. Washington then scored 11 of the next 13 points, with Anthony Davis scoring seven of them on a dunk, a three-point play and a jumper. By 8:16 the Wizards led 75-66.
Chicago never got the margin under seven again in the quarter. Bub Carrington hit two threes, Johnson hit another, and Young's lob to Alex Sarr made it 97-80 with 34 seconds left, per AP. Young had seven points and five assists in the quarter, per AP. Wilson scored one basket in those 12 minutes.
Washington's lead peaked at 103-82 after two Young free throws with 10:34 left in the game, per the play-by-play.
The comeback that fell short
Chicago answered with 10 straight points. Josh Giddey scored, Norman Powell hit a 25-footer, Leonard Miller dunked and Matas Buzelis hit a three off a Wilson assist, and it was 103-92 at 7:27. Washington pushed it back to 114-99 behind Kyshawn George and Champagnie.
Wilson led the last push. He scored 11 in the fourth: a basket at 5:09, two free throws at 3:55, one more at 2:41, a three-point play at 1:25 and a 27-foot three with 54.1 seconds left that cut it to 118-112. Buzelis hit a 24-footer at 23.3 to make it 118-115. Davis and Young then made four straight free throws, and Powell's three at 3.4 seconds came too late, per the play-by-play. Young went 9 of 9 at the line.
Washington's balance
Young led the Wizards with 25 points and nine assists on 6-of-13 shooting, per the ESPN box score. George scored 22 with nine rebounds and four blocks. Davis scored 19 on 8-of-21. Champagnie had 11 points and 14 rebounds off the bench. Johnson scored 13 and Carrington 9 on 3-of-5 from three.
Washington did it without AJ Dybantsa, the No. 1 pick, who is day to day with a sprained left ankle, per AP. That pushed back his NBA debut. The Wizards also listed Tristan Vukcevic (hip) and Jamir Watkins (knee) as out, per ESPN's injury report. They are 2-1.
Chicago's shooting problem
The Bulls went 12 of 43 from three, per AP. Through three games they are shooting 23% from deep, 28 of 124, per AP. Wilson's 1-of-9 was the worst of it on Saturday. Jalen Smith went 2 of 7, Buzelis 2 of 7 and Powell 3 of 7.
Chicago made 28 of 30 free throws and committed 12 turnovers to Washington's 13, per ESPN. Giddey had nine points, eight rebounds and 10 assists with no turnovers. Buzelis scored 21 and Powell 18 with four steals.
The Bulls played without forwards Patrick Williams (groin) and Noa Essengue (head contusion), per AP, and ESPN also listed Nic Claxton out with a hamstring injury.
Next up
Chicago is 1-2. The Bulls lost 135-92 to Toronto in the opener and won 132-125 at Milwaukee on Friday, per AP and ESPN's schedule. They play at Boston on Monday. Washington starts a three-game trip with this win and plays at Charlotte on Monday, per AP.
Sources: ESPN box score, play-by-play and injury report, Wizards 124, Bulls 120 (Oct. 24, 2026) · AP recap via ESPN · ESPN Bulls schedule
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