Chicago Bulls burn nets from 3-point range, defeat Charlotte Hornets

The Chicago Bulls unleashed a barrage of 3-pointers in a 115-109 victory Monday against the Charlotte Hornets at the Spectrum Center.

The Bulls made 14-of-40 3-pointers, including 5-of-12 from forward Nikola Mirotic, handing the Hornets (29-38) their second consecutive home loss. It also seriously jeopardized the playoff hopes of the Hornets, who remain entrenched in 11th place in the Eastern Conference, four games out of eighth place with 15 games remaining.

The Bulls (32-35) had four players who scored 20 or more, led by Mirotic (25), Jimmy Butler (23), Dwyane Wade (23) and Rajon Rondo (20).

Chicago’s hot 3-point shooting was symptomatic of the Hornets season-long defensive problems, especially late in games.

“We play with no discipline defensively,” coach Steve Clifford said. “We’re learning the hard way. It’s not hard to see, yet the problem hasn’t been fixed.”

The Bulls, taking advantage of the hot 3-point shooting, led by as many as 16 points in the second quarter. The Hornets cut the lead to 58-48 by halftime, then continued to put the pressure on during the third quarter.

A drive by Frank Kaminsky tied it 69-69 with 5 minutes, 20 seconds left in the third quarter, but the Bulls outscored the Hornets by 10 points the rest of the quarter.

Three who mattered

Mirotic: Drained five of 12 3-pointers for the Bulls, but also added 11 rebounds.

Marvin Williams: Another stat-filled game, scoring 13 points, grabbing 18 rebounds and handing out five assists for the Hornets. It was his fifth double-double in six games.

Michael-Kidd Gilchrist: Made nine of 12 shots, scoring 22 points, and grabbed six rebounds for the Hornets..

Observations

▪ Hornets guard Nicolas Batum missed the game with a migraine. Jeremy Lamb started in his place and scored 26.

▪ The Hornets did well to trail by only 10 points, 58-48, at halftime. The Bulls made 11 of 23 3-pointers – including 10 of their first 15 – to go ahead by as many as 16 in the second quarter.

▪ Charlotte’s bench players contributed just six points in the first half, going 2-of-9. Lamb, who usually comes off the bench, started in place of Batum, however, and had 10 points by halftime.

Worth mentioning

▪ Kaminsky, who missed five games with a sprained shoulder, returned and scored four points on 2-of-7 shooting.

▪ Carolina Panthers linebacker Luke Kuechly and coach Ron Rivera (along with wife Stephanie) were courtside.

▪  The Hornets scored just one fast-break basket, a dunk by Williams in the third quarter.

They said it

“Obviously we couldn’t guard them.” – Hornets coach Steve Clifford.

“I said, ‘Put this thing on loop, guys.’ This is how we want to play.” – Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg.

“It’s easy basketball to play so it’s contagious.” – Bulls guard Dwyane Wade.

Report card

B OFFENSE: Scored enough to win, but 3-point shooting was off (24.1 percent) and running game (two fast-break points) was nonexistent.

D DEFENSE: Consistency, fundamentals, toughness – none of them are there.

C- COACHING: The message isn’t getting through.

This story was originally published March 13, 2017 at 10:03 PM with the headline "Chicago Bulls burn nets from 3-point range, defeat Charlotte Hornets."