

John Wall led the Wizards’ charge Monday. (Mike DiNovo-USA TODAY Sports)

A few hours before leading the Washington Wizards to an impressive 14-point road win over the Chicago Bulls Monday, Wizards point guard John Wall said he was slated to undergo a precautionary MRI in Washington Tuesday on his VMO [vastus medialis obliquus] muscle located just above his left knee after arriving from the Windy City. The examination, however, has been scheduled for Thursday, Wall confirmed Tuesday. The Wizards host the Milwaukee Bucks at Verizon Center Wednesday.

Wall has played through soreness in the muscle in recent games, which he figures is just a bruise and has made bending the knee difficult. He has started and played in every one of Washington’s 36 games this season despite various ailments, ranging from a sprained MCL to a sprained ankle to bruised ribs, and doesn’t anticipate having to miss time because of the VMO injury.

“I know you’re going to deal with nagging injuries throughout the year,” the 25-year-old Wall said after the Wizards’ victory over the Orlando Magic Saturday. “I’m perfectly fine with that. But it’s the ones that – I can’t even bend my knee without it being sore. So that’s the thing that gets frustrating.

“But other than that, just got to go out there and compete. But like I always tell you, when I step between those lines I make no excuses. If I play like [crap], I play like [crap]. Some people can’t commit to that. But if I play like [crap], I play like [crap]. If I felt like I couldn’t have done [crap], I wouldn’t have suited up.”

Wall tallied 17 points and 10 assists to go with five rebounds, three steals, and two turnovers in Monday’s 114-100 victory against the Bulls. It was his 21st double-double of the season, the second-most among perimeter players in the NBA behind Oklahoma City Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook.

After missing significant chunks of games because of injury during his first two seasons, Wall has sat out just three regular season games over the last three seasons and three playoff games after fracturing his left hand and wrist in five places last spring.

“He’s going to play. He doesn’t feel the greatest but that’s who he is,” Wizards Coach Randy Wittman said. “He loves the game. He loves playing. He doesn’t like sitting out and it took five broken bones to get him to sit out last year and then he still came back. And so that’s who he is and he’s obviously the motor for us. And when he moves the ball like that and sees the floor like that,, it just makes everybody better. It makes everybody’s job easier.”