A 43-point thrashing of the Detroit Pistons on Monday night preserved the Washington Wizards’ postseason prospects, but the chances remained slim and the positive vibes the rout produced would have dissipated if the Wizards didn’t emerge from Verizon Center on Wednesday victorious over the Chicago Bulls.

It was another “must-win” in a long line of “must-wins” with just weeks remaining in the regular season, and again the Wizards delivered in convincing fashion, toppling the Bulls, 117-96, for the eighth win in their past nine contests at home.

Much like Monday’s, Wednesday’s triumph not only helped the Wizards’ place in the Eastern Conference against a team ahead of them in the standings, but it also clinched the regular season tiebreaker should one be necessary. The Wizards (32-35) pulled within 1 1/ 2 games of the Bulls (33-33) and the Pistons (34-34), who lost Wednesday to the Atlanta Hawks.

“We’re right in the thick of things,” Wizards forward Jared Dudley said.

John Wall dominated long stretches of the contest in a variety of ways en route to posting 29 points, 12 assists, 10 rebounds and three steals in 39 minutes for his third triple-double of the season. He propelled the Wizards’ fast-break attack, which produced 25 points, often capitalizing on 18 Bulls turnovers.

Coach Randy Wittman on John Wall: “He was fabulous right from the start. Right from the start he got us going.” (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

“John, what can you say other than I was rooting against that quadruple-double,” Wizards Coach Randy Wittman said, jokingly referring to Wall’s eight turnovers. “He was fabulous right from the start. Right from the start he got us going.”

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Bradley Beal tallied 20 points and seven rebounds in 30 minutes in his second game back from a sprained pelvis, and Garrett Temple added 15 points on five first-half three-pointers (matching a career high) as Washington shot 13 of 21 from three-point range.

The Wizards were without Alan Anderson after he injured the left ankle on which he underwent two surgeries in a five-month stretch that forced him to miss the season’s first 55 games. Center Marcin Gortat was removed from the starting lineup just before the tip because of lower back pain and didn’t play in the first quarter, but he started the second period and logged 18 minutes.

Nene replaced Gortat in the starting lineup, and Washington didn’t skip a beat. The Wizards began the contest with the type of ball movement they displayed in demolishing the Pistons on Monday, and Nene served as the smooth-passing hub. The veteran center compiled 12 points in 23 minutes as Washington accumulated 25 assists on 43 field goals and won the battle on the boards, 47-40.

The Bulls didn’t have their starting center, Pau Gasol, because of a knee injury and lost Taj Gibson, Gasol’s replacement, in the second quarter because of a right hamstring strain. The absences placed more of a burden on the Bulls’ back court of Derrick Rose and Jimmy Butler, but the duo was outperformed by Wall and Beal. Rose (16 points) and Butler (17) combined to shoot 11 of 31 from the field as Chicago was held to 40.2 percent shooting.

Doug McDermott paced Chicago with 20 points off the bench and made half of the Bulls’ three-pointers as they went just 6 of 20 from beyond the arc.

Wizards forward Markieff Morris drives the baseline against Doug McDermott, who led Chicago with 20 points. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)

“Aggressiveness, taking them out of what they wanted to run,” Temple said. “A lot of the times it was Derrick Rose going one-on-one or Jimmy going one-on-one. We like that matchup.”

Wall credited the defensive prowess in the two blowout wins to Washington’s adjustments in defending pick and rolls, which was a significant problem on the team’s winless road trip last week. Wall said the team assessed the weakness before Monday’s win and the necessary communication was made to make changes, something that he acknowledged should’ve been done “a long time ago.”

“We just kind of looked at film,” Wall said, “and said our defense in pick and rolls was some [crap] so we have to fix it.”

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Last week’s fruitless three-game road swing left the Wizards desperate. They understood they needed to beat both the Pistons and Bulls to have any realistic shot at a third straight postseason appearance. Seventy-two hours later, a couple tweaks combined with a dose of urgency has them within striking distance with meetings against the Philadelphia 76ers and New York Knicks, two of the NBA’s worst teams, up next.

“We just needed to clean some things up and come in and do it,” Wittman said. “Getting these two wins like this I think validates that.”