Charlotte Hornets lose again, this time in overtime, to the 4-20 Chicago Bulls
The Chicago Bulls have the fewest victories in the NBA at four. Two of those are now against the Charlotte Hornets.
The Bulls put away the Hornets in overtime Friday 119-111 at Spectrum Center. Chicago scored 56 points in the lane. Rookie Lauri Markkanen finished with 24 points, while point guard Kris Dunn added 20.
The Hornets lost their second in a row. Center Dwight Howard had his second game of 20-or-more points and rebounds (25 points and 20 boards) as a Hornet. Kemba Walker added 20 points.
Walker tied the game at 106-106 with 5.3 seconds remaining in regulation, hitting two free throws off a foul by Bulls guard Kris Dunn. The initial call was that the Bulls knocked the ball out of bounds, then a secondary whistle defined it as a shooting foul.
Dunn missed a pull-up jump shot from just above the foul line, pushing the game into overtime.
On Nov. 17, the Bulls beat the Hornets 123-120 in Chicago. That was their last win prior to Friday; the Bulls were on a 10-game losing streak.
Three who mattered
Howard: He also had six blocks.
Marvin Williams: So far, he is having his best NBA season from 3-point range.
Markkanen: A creative scorer in a deep rookie class.
Observations
▪ The Hornets lost their top two reserve big men. Cody Zeller has a torn meniscus in his left knee and Frank Kaminsky has a sprained right ankle. Zeller’s injury is by far the more serious.
▪ With Zeller and Kaminsky out, Johnny O’Bryant goes from playing little to being first big man off the bench. Also, 6-5 Treveon Graham will play some power forward.
▪ The Hornets made two moves related to their G-League affiliate, the Greensboro Swarm. Rookie big man Mangok Mathiang went to Charlotte as insurance against the injuries. Third point guard Julyan Stone is with the SwarmSting to get some game minutes.
▪ Kemba Walker drew a technical foul in the first quarter; that’s Walker’s third technical this season.
▪ The Hornets lost Jeremy Lamb for the second half due to a shin contusion.
Worth mentioning
▪ Quirk of the Hornets’ schedule: They play the Lopez twins on back-to-back nights: Robin with the Bulls, then Brook with the Los Angeles Lakers.
▪ Walker scored his 3,000th career field goal Friday.
▪ The Hornets got a strong start from the 3-point line, making 7 of their first 16 attempts.
Report card
COFFENSE: Nic Batum and Walker were a combined 9-of-30 from the field.
F DEFENSE: The Bulls topped 50 points in the paint. That’s nothing like the top-5 defense the Hornets aspire to be.
C- COACHING: That’s back-to-back losses at home. It’s one thing to lose to the Golden State Warriors, but not the Bulls.
Rick Bonnell: 704-358-5129, @rick_bonnell
Bulls 119, Hornets 111, OT
CHICAGO (119)
Valentine 3-7 1-2 7, Markkanen 8-15 5-5 24, Lopez 9-15 1-2 19, Dunn 8-24 4-6 20, Holiday 6-15 4-4 17, Zipser 0-2 0-0 0, Portis 4-4 0-0 9, Mirotic 2-7 1-1 6, Grant 3-3 0-0 6, Nwaba 5-7 1-2 11. Totals 48-99 17-22 119.
CHARLOTTE (111)
Kidd-Gilchrist 5-10 5-8 15, Williams 6-11 2-2 17, Howard 11-23 3-8 25, Walker 5-16 7-7 20, Batum 4-14 0-0 9, O’Bryant III 0-3 2-2 2, Carter-Williams 1-5 0-0 2, Monk 1-5 0-0 3, Graham 4-7 2-2 12, Bacon 1-1 0-0 2, Lamb 2-5 0-0 4. Totals 40-100 21-29 111.
Chicago | 31 | 21 | 23 | 31 | 13 | — | 119 |
Charlotte | 25 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 5 | — | 111 |
3-Point Goals—Chicago 6-18 (Markkanen 3-5, Portis 1-1, Mirotic 1-3, Holiday 1-5, Valentine 0-2, Dunn 0-2), Charlotte 10-29 (Williams 3-5, Walker 3-10, Graham 2-3, Monk 1-3, Batum 1-4, O’Bryant III 0-1, Carter-Williams 0-1, Lamb 0-2). Fouled Out—Lopez, Dunn. Rebounds—Chicago 56 (Markkanen 12), Charlotte 50 (Howard 20). Assists—Chicago 23 (Dunn 12), Charlotte 22 (Batum 10). Total Fouls—Chicago 29, Charlotte 20. Technicals—Chicago coach Bulls (Defensive three second), Walker, Kidd-Gilchrist. A—14,077 (19,077).
This story was originally published December 8, 2017 at 9:54 PM with the headline "Charlotte Hornets lose again, this time in overtime, to the 4-20 Chicago Bulls."