(From Mark Nickolas for PoliticalBase.com)

So, apparently President Obama made an unscheduled stop this evening and is sitting courtside at the Washington Wizards v. Chicago Bulls basketball game, according to the White House press pool report just distributed:

Pool report #1
Baller-in-Chief takes in a game

POTUS departed the White House at 7:01 p.m. The motorcade reached the Verizon Center five minutes later, entering through the 6th Street loading dock.

The president arrived on the arena floor at 7:14, taking his courtside seat opposite the Wizards’ bench amid general pandemonium. He will be taking in this evening’s Bulls-Wizards contest with Chicago friend Marty Nesbitt to his left and a grinning young jersey-clad Wizards fan to his right. POTUS is wearing a black collarless shirt and slacks, with a collared black jacket.

Washington leapt out to a 27-18 lead after the first quarter, powered by 13 points from forward Antawn Jamison.

Brad Haynes
Wall Street Journal

I’ll upload an image from the game when I can grab one…

Update (8:35 pm ET): Here’s some video I just pulled from the telecast of his arrival. Seems that Obama got a much friendly welcome than Sarah Plain did back in October when he showed-up at a Philadelphia Flyers hockey game. Click here for a refresher:

Update #2 (8:23 pm ET):

Here’s an AP photo:

Update #3 (9:06 pm ET): One last update:

Pool report #2

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, the section in front of the suite stood with their backs to the floor, oblivious to the halftime act. At midcourt a man balanced on one leg of a chair balanced on a bottle balanced on a table, while smooth jazz filled the arena.

WH staff including David Axelrod, Jon Favreau and Reggie Love are seated near the president’s courtside vantage, six rows behind the basket.

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

Brad Haynes
Wall Street Journal

Update (10:40 pm ET): I lied…Here’s the final pool report:

Pool report #3

Three minutes into the second half, POTUS returned to his courtside seat, greeted by a standing ovation and a swinging two-handed dunk by Chicago’s Joakim Noah, 25 feet away.

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, POTUS left the scene. His motorcade took four minutes to reach the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, arriving at 9:30.

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

Washington’s tally of losses remains unchanged: 44.

And we have a lid for the night.

Brad Haynes
Wall Street Journal