Bulls, Wizards battle in Windy City

On Wednesday, Chris Duhon poured in a career-high 26 points and dished out eight assists, as the Bulls used impressive bench play on the way to a 104-88 victory over the hapless Toronto Raptors.

Darius Songaila added 19 points and Andres Nocioni tallied 11, both off the bench, as Chicago’s reserves outscored Toronto’s bench, 69-29. The Bulls, who shot 50.6 percent, have beaten the Raptors 12 straight times and have won two straight overall.

Duhon and Songaila combined to shoot 16-of-24 from the field, and Duhon missed just two of his eight three-point attempts.

Chicago, which will close the stand on Saturday in Atlanta, is 8-13 in its arena this season.

Washington, meanwhile, comes in on a winning note as well after Gilbert Arenas made two free throws with 1.7 seconds remaining to push the Wizards past the Boston Celtics, 89-87, on Wednesday at the TD Banknorth Garden.

Arenas had a subpar shooting night, as Washington’s leading scorer tallied 19 points on 7-of-21 from the floor. Antawn Jamison led the Wizards with 26 points and nine rebounds and Brendan Haywood poured in a season-high 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds.

The Wizards won for the second time in three games and for the sixth time in their last eight contests.

Washington, which will start a brief two-game homestand against Charlotte on Saturday, is 8-12 away from home this season.

Chicago topped the Wizards earlier in the season, but has dropped four of the last six and six of the last nine meetings. Washington has also lost two straight and three of four in the Windy City.