CHICAGO _ After their late-night victory over the Timberwolves on Friday, the Bulls were instructed to think young.
Not AAU young, but college young.
"I told our guys," coach Fred Hoiberg said, "to treat this like the conference tournament where you play the late game and then bounce back with an earlier one."
That message resonated with rookie Lauri Markkanen, who said: "It's cool. That's what we used to do in the Pac-12 tournament."
Friday's 8:30 p.m. tip meant a short turnaround _ and no shootaround before Saturday night's game against the Wizards. It also meant no Zach LaVine, who followed the team's plan by resting his surgically repaired left knee on the second game of a back-to-back.
Hoiberg said he hoped his team would have "great energy early," but the vibes weren't good in the opening minutes. The Bulls fell behind 9-2 as Justin Holiday and Denzel Valentine, starting for LaVine, combined to miss four shots.
The Bulls settled in and made it a game, but the Wizards emerged with a 101-90 victory, handing the Bulls their eighth loss in their last nine.
The Bulls cut their deficit to 97-90 with 4 minutes, 12 seconds to play on a Holiday 3-pointer but didn't score again. Seven Bulls scored in double figures, topped by Holiday's 15 points.
Bobby Portis was ejected after preventing a baseline dunk by Tomas Satoransky with 2:35 left. Portis' drew a flagrant-2 foul. He left the court smirking, obviously not in concert with the call.
Said Hoiberg: "I thought he was trying to prevent a layup."
Markkanen scored 12 on 5-for-19 shooting, including a 1-for-8 performance from long range. But the Bulls can live with that because they were mainly good shots. They want him shooting.
Markkanen attempted 10 or more shots in 10 straight games until leaving to witness the birth of his first child, a son. He came back Friday but took a back seat to LaVine, squeezing off just seven shots.
Asked if he planned to shoot more Saturday night, he chuckled and said: "If I'm open, I hope I get to shoot a little more. But I'm just trying to do what the other team is giving us."
Markkanen didn't score until midway through the second quarter, after he cleaned up his own miss with a left-handed finish. Later he flubbed a shot about a foot from the rim.
But Markkanen took it right to the 6-11 Marcin Gortat in the third quarter, finishing strong and drawing a foul. Robin Lopez gave him props by patting him on the shoulder.
The Bulls decided not to trade veterans Lopez and Holiday for moments of leadership like that.
"Justin has done a great job being vocal and a good role model and I hope I can compare to that," Lopez said Saturday. "We've had great energy around here for a lot of the time. And I don't think that's something we're too quick to throw away."
Said Markkanen: "RoLo, being a big guy, has helped me a ton. Justin helps off the court especially. We sit right next to each other on the plane."
The Bulls impressed the league with their 15-8 stretch following a 3-20 start. They frequently beat teams with more accomplished players, as they did Friday against Tom Thibodeau's crew.
"They play hard," Wizards coach Scott Brooks said of the Bulls. "When you have a young team you want to establish your identity with hard play, and I believe that's the No. 1 skill that any team can possess.
"Young players are bad if they don't play hard. Talented young players are even worse if they don't play hard because they get frustrated. If you have a talented group that plays hard, you have a chance to be good. It might take you one to two years but you have to keep challenging them."
