CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Unfortunately for Chicago Bulls fans, Scottie Pippen's pregame speech was the lone highlight of the season opener.
Larry Hughes scored 20 points and newcomer Gilbert Arenas added 18 as the Washington Wizards spoiled Pippen's return as a Bull with a 99-74 season-opening rout.
Pippen, who teamed with Michael Jordan to win six championships with Chicago in the 1990s, was signed as a free agent in the offseason and made his ballyhooed return to Chicago. He took the microphone and thanked the fans for their support before his team turned in a rough opener.
Washington cruised in coach Eddie Jordan's debut, taking the lead for good midway through the first quarter. The Wizards placed six players in double figures, including an impressive debut by rookie Jarvis Hayes, who finished with 13 points.
"We were not overly jittery or nervous," Jordan said. "I told them this game doesn't make or break our season. We just caught the Bulls on a cold night."
The Bulls shot a dreadful 28 percent (11-of-39) from the field in the first half, falling into a 43-31 halftime hole. Hughes had five points in a 12-3 spurt to open the fourth quarter for an 82-60 cushion with 7:38 to go.
"This was obviously not what we wanted to see," Chicago coach Bill Cartwright said. "We were out of sync offensively. I was a little bit disturbed that we did not play with the energy I would have liked."
Jalen Rose led Chicago with 15 points. Pippen finished with seven points and seven rebounds in 31 minutes.
Chicago tied the franchise record for worst loss in a season opener. The Bulls trailed by as many as 27 points and were booed off the court.
"Yeah, I heard the boos," Rose said. "They deserve to boo. They wanted to come out and see a big game and we let them down."
The addition of Arenas, who signed a six-year, $64 million contract in the offseason, allowed Hughes to move to his more natural shooting guard spot. Both players served as playmakers in the backcourt with Arenas handing out six assists and Hughes chipping in five.
Washington, playing without injured swingman Jerry Stackhouse, finished with 25 assists.
"Your guards have to lead you," Jordan said. "We haven't had a clear leader since Stack went out. Tonight Larry struggled a lot but kept pushing it to the basket and creating things."
Etan Thomas collected 13 points and 13 rebounds, Juan Dixon netted 11 points in 21 minutes and Christian Laettner contributed 10 points. Kwame Brown added eight points and eight rebounds.
Cartwright was most upset with his team's shot selection as Rose and Jamal Crawford combined to make only 10-of-31 attempts. Eddy Curry, who led the NBA in field-goal percentage a year ago, fouled out with nine points on 3-of-10 shooting.
Washington held a 46-26 edge in the paint and converted 19 turnovers into 22 points.
"That is not something we are happy with," Cartwright said. "We want guys to take the outside shot when it is there. We want to attack inside-out."
The Bulls played without Tyson Chandler, who sat out due to back problems. His replacement, Lonny Baxter, fouled out in 19 minutes with six points and seven rebounds.
