Deni Avdija, Wizards fall to 0-4 with loss to Bulls

Avdija maintains NBA comfort level with nine points and stellar three-point shooting in fourth game.

WASHINGTON WIZARDS Israeli forward Deni Avdija drives past Chicago Bulls defender Otto Porter Jr. during the Bulls’ 115-107 victory over the Wizards late Tuesday night. (photo credit: USA TODAY)
WASHINGTON WIZARDS Israeli forward Deni Avdija drives past Chicago Bulls defender Otto Porter Jr. during the Bulls’ 115-107 victory over the Wizards late Tuesday night.
(photo credit: USA TODAY)
Israeli rookie Deni Avdija continued his solid play for the Washington Wizards late Tuesday night, but the team can’t seem to find a winning formula at the start of this National Basketball Association campaign.
The 19-year-old ninth overall pick in the draft started his fourth straight game for Washington and played 26 minutes, while scoring nine points on 3-6 shooting, including 3-5 on three-pointers, but the Chicago Bulls pulled away late to notch a 115-107 road victory.
Avdija also added four rebounds, four assists, two steals and a block, to go along with a turnover, five personal fouls and plus/minus of -5.
Quinton Mayo, who covers the Wizards for NBC tweeted after the game about Avdija: “He has the potential to become a good one-on-one guard in this league, he is already playing well defensively in relation to his teammates. He is going to be a very good player in this league for a very long time.”
Zach LaVine scored 23 points, Coby White added 18 for the Bulls, while Otto Porter Jr. scored 16 points against his former team.
Russell Westbrook finished with 21 points, 15 rebounds and 11 assists to record his third triple-double in as many games since joining the Wizards. Bradley Beal scored 29 points for Washington, which has lost its first four games of a season for the first time since 2012/13.
Reuters contributed to this report.