Zach LaVine’s 3-pointers, late Hornets turnover, give Bulls a comeback victory
Zach LaVine scored a career-high 49 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer off a steal of Devonte Graham, pushing the Chicago Bulls to a 116-115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
LaVine made 13-of-17 3-point attempts and 17-of-28 shots overall. LaVine was only the third player in NBA history to make 13 or more 3s in a game, joining the Golden State Warriors’ Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Bulls rookie Coby White, a former North Carolina star, was credited with the steal of Graham.
The Hornets squandered a five-point lead in the last eight seconds.
Good buzz
Marvin Williams made it clear last season it wasn’t important to him whether he started or came off the bench, so it was no issue when coach James Borrego put him in the second unit this season. The senior-most Hornet — 14 NBA seasons —- made his first seven shots Saturday and scored a season-high 21 points.
Williams got hot in the third quarter, when he had nine points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and the Hornets retook the lead.
Bee Stings
After the Hornets finally went a game without a double-digit deficit Friday against the Washington Wizards, they fell behind by 10 in the first half Saturday. So much of that was how turnovers put the Hornets in constant defensive predicaments early: They gave away the ball 13 times in the first half (to seven by the Bulls). That launched Chicago to eight fast-break points, far too many for the Hornets to allow.
Building blocks
Nic Batum’s return from a broken finger has seriously eaten into the minutes rookie second-round pick Cody Martin was getting and that could point Martin to the G-League Greensboro Swarm soon. Borrego confirmed as much pre-game.
Martin totaled just 11 minutes in the first four games since Batum’s return, after playing 21 and 26 minutes in the two games prior to Batum being activated. Borrego is juggling Batum’s minutes and working Dwayne Bacon back in, so Martin is the odd man out.
Borrego has said repeatedly that if young guys aren’t playing regularly, they’re better off getting minutes in Greensboro. That’s how the Hornets managed Bacon and Devonte Graham last season and how Martin’s twin brother, Caleb, has been managed so far this season.
Beyond the numbers
Rebounding has become enough of a chronic problem this season that Borrego is willing to concede other agendas — like pushing pace — to address the weakness. Borrego has told the guards, for instance, to be more conscious of helping with the boards more at the expense of getting into transition so much. The deficit in possessions from poor rebounding and abundant turnovers is costly.
