Defense leads Bulls to win over Charlotte
Defense leads Bulls to win over Charlotte (Chicago, IL) – By losing against the Cavs on Wednesday night, the Bulls fell out of the playoff play-in tournament. Chicago is still very much in playoff contention, as they are only one game behind the Wizards who are in 10th. Twelve of the Bulls final 14 games are against current playoff teams, starting tonight against the Charlotte Hornets.
Charlotte is currently playing without LaMelo Ball and Gordon Hayward, but they have remained competitive. Terry Rozier and Miles Bridges have been the main reason, as they have averaged 22 and 20 points in their last 10 games. In the Bulls last 5 games without LaVine, Coby White has stepped up. White has averaged 17 points and 7 assists in the last 4 games, with only 7 turnovers. Chicago had 20 turnovers against Cleveland, which they will have to improve upon against Charlotte.
Vučević and White lead Bulls in the 1st half
Chicago got off to a great start, as they led 10-0 within the first 3 minutes. Devonte’ Graham got Charlotte back into the game with 8 quick points. Graham’s efforts reduced the Bulls advantage to 14-10, with 7.5 minutes left in the 1st. Nikola Vučević and White combined to score 18 points in the quarter, putting Chicago ahead 34-23 going into the 2nd.
The Bulls went up 39-25 early in the 2nd, but the Hornets responded with a 9-2 run. That stretch cut the Chicago lead to 41-34, with 7 minutes left. Behind two 3 pointers from Garrett Temple, Chicago earned some separation at 49-36. After not scoring the whole quarter, Vučević and White scored 7 of the Bulls last 9 points in the 2nd. Chicago led 58-44 going into halftime.
Vučević and White led the Bulls with 25 points in the 1st half, but the team played well overall. Chicago also had 22 bench points, 18 assists and only 6 turnovers. Graham and Bridges led Charlotte with 13 and 11 points respectively.
Bulls extend their lead to 21 in the 3rd
After only scoring 4 points in the 1st half, Rozier found his groove to start the 3rd. He scored 7 points to help reduce the Bulls lead to 65-56, with 9 minutes left. Chicago countered with an 11-0 run to go up 76-56, giving them their largest lead of the game. After allowing Charlotte to score 12 in the first three minutes of the 3rd, Chicago held them to 11 points the rest of the quarter. The Bulls led 88-67 going into the 4th
Chicago closes out Charlotte
Behind Ryan Arcidiacono’s first points of the night, Chicago went up 99-73 with 8 minutes left in the game. Charlotte reduced the Bulls lead down to 106-87 with 2.5 minutes left, but Chicago still won the game 108-91.
Vučevic led the Bulls with 18 points, 16 rebounds and 6 assists. White and Thaddeus Young also added 18 points of their own. Outside of balanced scoring, this was 3rd time in the last 4 games that Chicago held their opponent under 100 points.
Graham led the Hornets with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists
Up Next
Charlotte (28-30) will play the Cavs (21-37) on Friday night at 7pm CT.
Chicago (25-34) will face the Heat (31-28) on Saturday night at 7pm CT.
Defense leads Bulls to win over Charlotte
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