CHICAGO -- Forward Doug McDermott refused to sulk when he headed into halftime with zero points in the Chicago Bulls' game against the Washington Wizards.

"I didn't get down on myself," McDermott said. "I just came out in the second half and I was aggressive. If you keep playing hard, good things are going to happen."

McDermott's perseverance paid off. He scored all 14 of his points during the second half, and Chicago outlasted the Wizards 109-104 on Wednesday.

Bulls center Pau Gasol scored 10 points and pulled down 15 rebounds for 32nd double-double of the season. Forward Taj Gibson and guard E'Twaun Moore added 17 points apiece. Chicago (30-26) won its third straight game despite playing without injured guards Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler.

Seven Bulls players scored in double figures. Gasol fell one assist shy of his first triple-double of the season despite playing with flu-like symptoms that forced him to miss practice one day earlier.

"I'm really proud of the guys," Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg said. "Everybody just found a way to fight."

Guard Bradley Beal led the Wizards with 19 points. Guard Garrett Temple contributed 18 points. Guards Ramon Sessions and John Wall added 16 points apiece for Washington (26-30).

The Wizards dropped to 10-25 this season when allowing 100 points or more.

"We didn't come out with a defensive sense of urgency early on," said Wall, who led the Wizards with three steals. "They were moving the ball and getting wherever they wanted. When we're not making shots, our defensive pressure and our defensive intensity drops."

McDermott took advantage of Washington's defensive lapses in the second half. After the Wizards cut the deficit to three points early in the fourth quarter, the second-year forward hit back-to-back baskets to give Chicago a 101-92 lead with less than five minutes remaining.

The Bulls entered the fourth quarter with an 89-79 advantage. Moore and forward Mike Dunleavy hit back-to-back 3-pointers during a 13-0 run for the Bulls midway through the third quarter. McDermott drove the baseline for a windmill slam dunk over Wizards forward Markieff Morris to increase Chicago's lead to 15 points with 3:06 to go in the third quarter.

"My legs actually felt terrible out there shooting my threes, so I had to find other ways to score tonight," McDermott said. "I just happened to have a couple good dunks. It was a lot of fun. Part of it is just our team being unselfish. I'm able to get to the rim like that."

Chicago erased a six-point deficit to establish a 57-55 lead at halftime. Gibson converted a trio of three-point plays during the second quarter.

Hoiberg praised Gibson for his tenacity near the basket.

"Our guys did a good job of finding him all game long," Hoiberg said. "He had 17 at halftime and really carried us. We had 54 (points) in the paint, and Taj was a big part of that."

Washington finished the first quarter on an 11-2 run to seize a 31-28 lead. On the final play of the quarter, Wall fired a pass to Sessions for an open 3-pointer from the left corner.

Beal said he and his teammates could learn from the loss.

"They played with a sense of desperation," Beal said. "They didn't have three of their main guys (including forward Nikola Mirotic), so that should just speak for itself. That should automatically energize us and motivate us to be able to come in here and get a win and get out of here. But it was kind of the total opposite. They played with desperation, and we didn't."

Hoiberg said the decision to sit Rose was a precautionary measure.

"He had some soreness in his hamstring," Hoiberg said. "It's that same tendon (that bothered him earlier in the season). We just decided to take the safe route and hold him out."

NOTES: Bulls PG Derrick Rose did not play because of right hamstring tendinitis. The 26-year-old has missed eight games this season because of injuries to his left ankle, left knee and right hamstring. ... Wizards F Alan Anderson scored nine points off the bench in his season debut. Anderson, 33, underwent surgery on his left ankle in October. He averaged 7.4 points per game last season with the Brooklyn Nets. ... Bulls C Pau Gasol started Wednesday despite missing practice Tuesday because of flu-like symptoms. ... Wizards G Gary Neal (right leg) was ruled out before the game. ... Bulls G Jimmy Butler practiced jump shots Wednesday as he recovers from a left knee strain that has sidelined him for the past seven games. "The next step is getting him comfortable exploding on it and obviously moving side to side," coach Fred Hoiberg said.