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The fourth-seeded Chicago Bulls will open the 2014 NBA Playoffs on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. CT when they host the fifth-seeded Washington Wizards in Game 1 of their first round series.

The series opener will appear on Comcast SportsNet Chicago locally and TNT nationally. Game 2 will be played on Tuesday at the United Center and start at 8:30 p.m. CT with CSN and TNT again handling the broadcast. The series will then shift to Washington for Games 3 and 4 on Friday, April 25 and Sunday, April 27. All games will air on ESPN 1000 AM. In addition, all home games will air in Spanish on WRTO 1200 AM.

Joakim Noah and the Bulls closed out the 2013-14 campaign at 48-34, but it was down the stretch in which the team was it its best.

In three regular season games against Washington, Chicago went 1-2, falling twice within four days in January but winning their last meeting 96-78 on April 5.

Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau shared a few thoughts about what will make the Wizards a tough matchup following Chicago’s 91-86 overtime loss in Charlotte on Wednesday.

“The speed of [John] Wall, they have quality bigs up front, [Bradley] Beal is a terrific player, [Trevor] Ariza,” said Thibodeau. “They’re tough. Their conference record is very good. They’ve been a good road team.”

The Bulls closed out the 2013-14 campaign at 48-34, but it was down the stretch in which the team was it its best. Since Jan. 1, Chicago won an Eastern Conference-best 36 games and owned the best record in the East with a mark of 36-16.

“Overall, I think we fought hard,” said All-Star center Joakim Noah. “I feel like we competed every night and give it everything we had. This is the hardest season I’ve ever been a part of. I’m really proud of the work our team put in. After every practice, everybody was putting in extra work to get their games in order. The playoffs is the icing on the cake.”

“It’s the playoffs,” said Thibodeau of what’s next. “It’s how well you know your opponent, how well you’re playing, being as sharp as possible, and knowing most often these games come down to one or two possessions. [Wednesday’s] game was good preparation for that.”

Tickets for the first two rounds of the 2014 NBA Playoffs (eight possible home games) are on sale now through Bulls.com, NBATickets.com, the United Center and 1‑800‑4NBA‑TIX.

Chicago Bulls vs. Washington Wizards first round schedule

Game 1: Sun. April 20 Washington at Chicago 6:00 p.m. CT TNT and CSN
Game 2: Tue. April 22 Washington at Chicago 8:30 p.m. CT TNT and CSN
Game 3: Fri. April 25 Chicago at Washington 7:00 p.m. CT ESPN and CSN
Game 4: Sun. April 27 Chicago at Washington 12:00 p.m. CT ABC
Game 5*: Tue. April 29 Washington at Chicago TBD
Game 6*: Thu. May 1 Chicago at Washington TBD
Game 7*: Sat. May 3 Washington at Chicago TBD TNT and CSN

* If necessary