Hornets Handed Their 6th-Straight Loss by Undermanned Bulls

The Charlotte Hornets extended their losing streak to a season-high six consecutive games in their loss to the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, 121-109.

Both teams entered the game short-handed. The Bulls were without Lonzo Ball, Alex Caruso, Patrick Williams, Ayo Dosunmu and Derrick Jones Jr. The Hornets were without the services of Gordon Hayward, Cody Martin and Jalen McDaniels.

Coming into the game with five straight defeats, the Hornets were in desperate need of a fast start, but four straight misses from three-point range made it seem like that was not going to happen. LaMelo Ball then connected on back to back three pointers to ignite the Hornets offense. The Bulls responded with some streaky shooting of their own to keep the game level. Ball hit another three in the closing seconds of the quarter to give the Hornets a one point lead, 29-28, going into the second quarter.

Charlotte added a few points to their advantage to start the second quarter. An extended drought aided the Bulls to go on a 22-5 run, behind a contested three-pointer by DeMar DeRozan, who was 8 of 11 from the field for 18 points in the first half.

Terry Rozier was able to convert on two jumpers, which were the only points scored by the Hornets in a seven minute span. They finished with just 16 points in the quarter and were down by 13 at the half, 58-45.

The Hornets continued to struggle to find their offensive rhythm in the third quarter, but they played defense well enough to keep the game within reach. They missed 11 straight three-point attempts going back to the halftime break. Miles Bridges stopped the bleeding with back to back shots from downtown, halfway through the quarter. That cut the Hornets deficit to single digits, eight points and forced Bulls coach Billy Donovan to call a timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, the Hornets gave up easy baskets to the Bulls to lose some of their momentum. Zach LaVine hit a three-pointer at the end of the quarter to push the lead to 13 for the Bulls, 89-76.

The Hornets came alive on the offensive end to start the final quarter. They made a few outside shots and had some successful drives to the basket. As quickly as the Hornets started making shots, their defense disappeared totally.

The Bulls got uncontested looks on the offensive end and they cashed in consistently. Chicago stretched its lead to as large as 21 in the quarter, as the duo of DeRozan and LaVine continued to knock down jumpers. The Bulls shot 56.1% from the field for the game, including 48.5% from three-point land. The Hornets never made a serious push, as the Bulls cruised to the win, 121-109.

“DeMar DeRozan made clutch shots, he made tough shots,” Borrego said. “LaVine made tough shots. We tried to trap them, zone them, bump them, but they made tough shots and we have to tip our hat to them.”

DeRozan scored a game-high 36 points for the Bulls. He also had five rebounds and four assists. LaVine chipped in with 27 points, seven boards and five assists. Nikola Vucevic had a double-double with 18 points, 15 rebounds along with eight assists. Coby White added 15 points, seven boards and three assists. He has heard his name circulated before the trade deadline.

Ball led the Hornets with 33 points, nine rebounds, five assists and four steals. Bridges scored 22 points, with five rebounds, five assists and one steal. Kelly Oubre Jr. contributed 19 points and four rebounds. Rozier scored 16 points, four rebounds and six assists.

The Bulls host Karl-Anthony Towns and the Minnesota Timberwolves to start a six-game homestand on Friday. The Hornets travel to Detroit to take on Cade Cunningham and the Pistons on Friday.