Obamamania strikes Washington in victory over Chicago

February 27, 10:19 PMWashington Wizards ExaminerGeorge Panagakos

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An out-of-focus snap of Caron Butler (left) highlights a
serious-looking President Barack Obama, the first US
President to enjoy a Wizards home game since President
Bill Clinton on January 19th, 2000 (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Barack Obama's courtside appearance gave Washington a passion to play tonight, as the Wizards dominated the visiting Chicago Bulls in an 113-90 victory.  Despite John Salmons' 25 points on 8-for-13 shooting, the Bulls couldn't hang with the Wizards, who ended up with 8 double-digit scorers including a game high 27 points and 11 rebounds from Antawn Jamison to complete his 29th double-double of the season.

After a three-minute delay induced by the introduction of President Obama, play began, and Washington looked sharp.  Chicago made the first basket, which would end up being their only lead of the game.  The Wizards ran hard on both sides of the court, Darius Songaila looked for the paint,  Jamison was on fire, and everything was clicking.  With a minute and forty left in the first quarter, Washington enjoyed a 25-10 lead.

The Bulls would make a comeback in the second quarter to force the Wizards to a 49-45 halftime finish, but the tight affair would expand to over a 20 point lead for Washington by the fourth quarter due to the excellent team defense provided by Andray Blatche and Dominic McGuire.  The duo produced 5 of Washington's 7 blocks on the night and McGuire picked up a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.  Chicago would never find the lead again after their 2-0 start.

From Nick Young's shaved head to JaVale McGee's emphatic patriotic salutes, and even Jamison's tomahawk jam, Examiner has you covered on the action via our friends from the AP.  Enjoy the gallery below for more shots from the game's action, including little "Nick," the young guy who sat next to the Pres for the first half, of whom Comcast SportsNet personality Steve Buckhantz said, "He (Nick) doesn't know where he is, well, he does know where he is, but..." haha, what a fun night.

President Obama, a die hard Bulls fan, got a taste of what Washington can do tonight, and perhaps he will adopt a new love for the hometown team as his years in office weigh in and the team becomes more consistent.

Tomorrow, I'll have a preview of Saturday's game against the Milwaukee Bucks, and make sure to check out Chris Cason's look at Norm Van Lier and Johnny "Red" Kerr, as the league remembers two great figures of the Chicago Bulls franchise.

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