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WASHINGTON -- If the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards meet in the first round of the playoffs, the Bulls will have a nice little blueprint to follow. The Bulls dominated from the get-go Saturday night and never trailed in a 96-78 win over the Wizards, avenging two losses from earlier in the season and providing perhaps a psychological edge if these teams are cranking up for a seven-game series in a couple of weeks. "It was definitely a statement game," Washington forward Drew Gooden said. "We were going in the mindset of this being a statement game, getting a possible matchup in the first round, and they took it the same way. They wanted to make a statement early." And they certainly did, holding the Wizards to 16 points in the first quarter and 10 in the second while building a lead that grew as large as 28 points. At one point, Washington was 0 for 7 from the 3-point line and 0 for 3 from the free throw line for the game, as well as 2 for 13 from the field in the second period. "They were taking shots they didnt want to take," Bulls forward Taj Gibson said. D.J. Augustin found plenty that he liked, as long as he was behind the arc. He led Chicago with 25 points, making 6 of 11 3-pointers but only 2 of 8 2-pointers. Joakim Noah had 21 points and 12 rebounds, and Carlos Boozer added 16 points for the Bulls, who have won five straight and are tied with the Toronto Raptors for the No. 3 seed in the Eastern Conference. Augustin has averaged 19.8 points during the winning streak. Unlike the Wizards, who freely talked about a rematch in the playoffs, the Bulls didnt want to think that far ahead. "We lost to these guys at home. We lost to them here. It was just getting this win tonight," Augustin said. "Were not looking forward to the playoffs just yet, but we wanted to come out tonight and do it for ourselves." John Wall scored 20 points, and Marcin Gortat had 19 for the Wizards, who sit in sixth place in the East. If they hold that spot, they would face the third-seeded team. Several Washington players cited fatigue as an issue on the back end of a back-to-back, but coach Randy Wittman noted that Chicago played Friday night as well. It also didnt help that Trevor Ariza played through an illness and went 1 for 9 from the field. Wittman, however, said his team wasnt ready for the Bulls intensity and aggression. "You fight aggression with aggression," Wittman said. "And it was only a one-way fight tonight." One likely difference if the teams do meet again: Wizards forward Nene, out with a sprained left knee, is expected back for the playoffs. He played in the two early wins over the Bulls. "Nene gives us another facilitator," Wittman said. "And against a team like this you need another one. Nene was another guy that kind of can play like Noah does, up at the top with the ball in his hands. Thats not an excuse why we lost. Id love to have him back, though." The Wizards made a run in the third quarter, scoring more points (35) in the period than they had in the entire first half (26). Walls 30-foot bounce pass to Trevor Booker on a fast break led to a dunk that pulled Washington within 11 and brought the crowd to its feet. But Noah took over and quickly squashed the rally. His three-point play started a 12-0 run early in the fourth quarter that put the game away. "We wanted to throw the first punch tonight, and I think we did a good job with that," Noah said. "In the beginning of the game, we were the more aggressive team. Usually, the most aggressive team wins." Notes: Noah was naturally less than thrilled that his college, Florida, lost its game in the Final Four. He opened his postgame remarks by saying: "No questions about the Gators, sensitive issue." ... The Wizards finished 3 for 16 from 3-point range. ... As the team with the NBAs only Polish player (Gortat), the Wizards celebrated Polish Heritage Night. Polands ambassador to the U.S. made a presentation to Gortat before tipoff. ... The Wizards recalled G Glen Rice from Iowa of the D-League. Fake Raptors Jerseys . 3. Trevor Ariza left them talkin about 40. Ariza made eight 3-pointers and scored a career-high 40 points to help the Washington Wizards win their sixth straight game, 122-103 over Philadelphia on Saturday night. Toronto Raptors Pro Shop . Serbia captain Bogdan Obradovic said his team will include 9th-ranked Janko Tipsarevic and 27th-ranked Viktor Troicki as he decided to let the top-ranked Djokovic rest. https://www.cheapraptors.com/. -- Raiders wide receiver Jacoby Ford made it through a third straight practice without any setbacks and expects to play in Oaklands regular-season finale against San Diego. Raptors Jerseys 2019 . The club says Fridays surgery was successful. Holiday, a former Eastern Conference All-Star acquired from Philadelphia last summer, has not played because of the shin injury since Jan. Toronto Raptors Store .com) - Klay Thompson is quickly proving he is worth every penny of his recently signed four-year contract extension.SOCHI – Finland will be shorthanded when it clashes with Canada on Sunday. Young forward Aleksander Barkov, who left a couple of shifts into the third period of his teams game on Friday, has suffered a knee injury that will force him out for the remainder of the Olympic tournament. The 18-year-old Barkov had an assist in his five-plus periods in Sochi. According to published reports in Finland, Barkov is expected to be out from four to six weeks. The Finns already were without star players Mikko Koivu and Valteri Filppula to begin the Winter Games. Koivu suffered an ankle injury in early January that he hasnt fully recovered from and Filppula was knocked out action with a broken ankle in late January. But without Koivu and Filppula, the Finns still managed to score a combined 15 goals in wins over Austria and Norway. Goaltending, however, is tthe strength of the Finnish team, which like Canada also took the day off to rest on Saturday.dddddddddddd Tuukka Rask played in Finlands first win and made only 12 saves in an 8-4 decision over Austria. Kari Lehtonen was in goal for Finlands 6-1 victory over Norway. If Rask starts against Canada, will assistant coach Claude Julien share any secrets with the Canadian players? Julien, of course, coaches Rask with the Boston Bruins. “First of all, we dont know who will be their starting goalie, so I havent said a word about Tuukka yet,” Julien said. “When the time comes, and I told Tuukka before the Games that Ill say it, he doesnt really like shootouts. Hes been very public about it. Hes an excellent goalie. We havent spent too much time on goalies strengths and weaknesses. But Tuukka doesnt have many weaknesses.” ' ' '