Game Recap: Bulls crush Hornets

Nell Redmond - USA Today Sports

Dustin Riese - Senior Writer - 16 hours ago

CHARLOTTE - It's hard to believe that the Chicago Bulls (36-42) were once on the outside looking in when it came to the play-in picture. Now, they are one of the hottest teams in the NBA, having not only clinched a spot in the play-in picture but also have a shot to climb as high as the seventh seed.

Even if this season hasn't gone as planned, especially when many fans wanted this team to tank, this has to be one of Billy Donovan's better coaching jobs with this team. He has changed the team's identity since the Zach Lavine trade and has the Bulls playing at a level they haven't seen in years.

Looking to continue their climb in the Eastern Conference standings, the Bulls were at the Spectrum Center for a Sunday Afternoon tilt against the Charlotte Hornets (19-59). When you look at the Bulls' remaining five games, several of those games are considered winnable, and this was one of those games where the Bulls were not only favored but, in reality, a game they should have no business losing.

Despite the Hornets hanging around and exchanging buckets throughout the first quarter, it was a massive 46-point second quarter that put the game away. The Bulls opened up a 75-55 halftime lead and never looked back, defeating the Hornets 131-117. Coby White capped off the Bulls' massive second quarter with a long, buzzer-beating triple, ending his first half with 20 points.

White was impressive as he returned to his home state of North Carolina and put on an absolute clinic, finishing with a game-high 37 points and doing so on 12-16 shooting. White was also on fire from a distance, connecting on six of eight triples as the Bulls had 16 triples in the game. Had White been playing at this level earlier in the season, there was a real possibility that the Bulls would be a top-six seed. However, given what he and this team have shown over the past month, who in the play-in field wants to face this team?

While White may have been the focal point of the Bulls' offense most of the game, he wasn't alone. Another balanced scoring attack led the Bulls to the victory. Not only did all five starters land in double figures, but six players in total, as this is the type of production the Bulls need to have to be successful.

Josh Giddey didn't finish with a triple-double, but with 23 points and 10 rebounds, he continues to be a massive part of this team on both ends of the floor. Chicago also picked up 16 points and 11 boards from Nikola Vucevic, who now has 201 double-doubles as a member of the Bulls, good for second-most all-time.

Those were the big three when it comes to the scoring options, but let's not overlook the performance of Patrick Williams off the bench, who also returned to his home state of North Carolina and dropped 15 points in 27 minutes. 2024-25 has been a struggle for Williams, but if he continues to play like this the rest of the way, all will be forgotten as he is starting to look like a different player. Matas Buzelis and Kevin Huerter rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Bulls, with Huerter contributing 13 points and Buzelis adding 10.

Not only is Charlotte one of the worst teams in the NBA, but they are down their best player, LaMelo Ball, which hurts this team offensively. With Ball in the lineup, the Hornets are, at the very least, far more competitive, as they will be one of the favorites to land Cooper Flagg in this year's upcoming draft.

With Ball out of the lineup, Charlotte has had to rely on several other players to pick up the scoring, with Mark Williams being one of those guys. After having his trade to the Los Angeles Lakers voided at the deadline, Williams was a different player in the second half and went on to lead the Hornets with 22 points.

He was one of four players to score in double figures, with three of them coming from the starting five. KJ Simpson, with his 18 points, was another starter to hit that mark, as was Seth Curry, who added 10 points. Apart from them, the lack of production from the starting five was evident, as this was a significant reason why the Bulls were able to build the lead they had at halftime and then maintain it in the second half.

Even if the starting lineup wasn't producing the way they had liked, the Hornets got a strong performance from another big player off the bench, as the Bulls had no answers for Jusuf Nurkic early on. Nurkic finished second on the team with 18 points, including a nine-point streak in the first quarter that ignited the Hornets' offense early on.

What is even more impressive about his game is those 18 points came in just 16 minutes and he started his game by going 7-8 shooting before finishing 8-11 in the losing effort. With the win, the Bulls improve to 20-19 on the road, which is good for one of the better road records in the East, and that could come in handy once the playoffs start.

Chicago is also a full game ahead of Miami for the 10th seed and are within .5 games of overtaking Atlanta for the eighth seed. They are also just two games out of the seventh seed as the Bulls continue to keep things interesting. The eighth seed is especially critical to get to, as the Bulls would be guaranteed two play-in games at that spot. Chicago will look to keep things going on Tuesday as they face off against the best in the East, the Cleveland Cavaliers.