Baller-in-Chief

(From Mark Silva for The Swamp at The Chicago Tribune Online)

President Barack Obama at the basketball meeting of the Chicago Bulls and Washington Wizards. (Photo by Evan Vucci / AP)

President Barack Obama, wearing a black collarless shirt and slacks with a collared black jacket, left the White House tonight for a night of bigtime basketball in downtown Washington.

The presidential motorcade reached the Verizon Center arena in five minutes, entering through a loading dock.

The president arrived on the arena floor this evening, taking his courtside seat opposite the Wizards’ bench amid general pandemonium.

He was taking in the evening’s Bulls-Wizards contest with Chicago friend Marty Nesbitt.

The president’s adopted hometown Washington team had seized a 27-18 lead over the president’s hometown Chicago team after the first quarter, powered by 13 points from forward Antawn Jamison.

With 45 seconds left in the first half, the president left his courtside seat for the owner’s box, two dozen rows behind the team benches.

Throughout halftime, people seated in the section in front of the owner’s suite stood with their backs to the floor, oblivious to the halftime act.

White House staff, including senior adviser David Axelrod, speechwriter Jon Favreau and presidential personal assistant Reggie Love, sat near the president’s courtside vantage, six rows behind a basket.

After two quarters, the Bulls had cut their game deficit to 45-49, with optimistic Chicago fans projecting a surplus by the end of the fourth quarter.

The president, for his part, has vowed to cut the deficit in half. But by the end of the game, things were not looking so Bullish.

(Photo of Bulls-fan-in-chief with a beverage: Gerald Herbert / AP)

Three minutes into the second half, the president returned to his courtside seat, greeted by a standing ovation and a swinging two-handed dunk by Chicago’s Joakim Noah,.

The president was joined courtside by Chicago friend and hoops partner Eric Whitaker for the rest of the game.

As Washington stretched its lead past 20 points in the waning minutes of the fourth quarter, the president left the house.

His motorcade took four minutes to return to the White House.

The Wizards finished the game with 113 points to the Bull’s 90.

Not a record deficit.