Chicago led the Charlotte Hornets nearly wire to wire behind a stingy defensive performance, and the Bulls salvaged the finale of a three-game homestand with a 109-95 win on Friday.
The Bulls pounced on Charlotte with a 12-2 run in the first quarter. Ayo Dosunmu, who scored a team-high 19 points, notched seven straight points to cap the pivotal early run.
Dosunmu led six Chicago scorers in double figures, including all five starters. Coby White put up half of his 18 points in the final five minutes, helping hold the Hornets at bay down the stretch.
The Bulls’ Josh Giddey had a strong all-around performance with 17 points, nine rebounds, seven assists and four steals. Zach LaVine scored 13 points, and Jalen Smith — starting in place of Nikola Vucevic, sidelined by an illness — recorded 11 points and 10 rebounds.
Smith also helped fuel Chicago’s outstanding defensive night with five blocked shots. His contributions helped the Bulls limit the Hornets to just 35.7 shooting from the floor, including a woeful 8-for-46 (17.4 percent) from 3-point range.
Lonzo Ball rounded out Chicago’s double-figure-scoring performances with 10 points off the bench. The only Ball brother playing on Friday — Charlotte’s LaMelo Ball remained sidelined with a calf injury — Lonzo Ball also had seven rebounds and four assists.
Chicago’s lead hovered from around 10 to 18 points most of the night, though Charlotte briefly threatened early in the second quarter. The Hornets pulled to within three points on a Miles Bridges layup to open the period. Bridges finished with 14 points in his first action since Nov. 19, having recovered from a knee injury.
Charlotte cut the deficit to eight points midway through the fourth quarter, but a quick 8-0 run with Ball providing five points effectively put the Hornets away.
Charlotte’s Brandon Miller led all scorers with 21 points, but he committed a game-high seven turnovers and shot a dismal 3-for-15 from 3-point range. Mark Williams, who shot 6-for-7 from the floor and grabbled nine rebounds, finished with 15 points in the loss.
The Hornets lost for the ninth time in 10 games.
–Field Level Media
