Bridges Scores 25+ PTS for 3rd Straight Game, Charlotte’s Offense Has Tough Night in Chicago
The Charlotte Hornets held firm for the first three quarters in the Windy City on Friday night, before the hometown Bulls progressively pulled away and sent them to a 104-91 road loss.
Miles Bridges (28 points on 12-of-18 shooting) notched a third straight 25-point performance for the Hornets in the defeat, which is now one away from matching the longest streak of his career (Oct. 22-27, 2021). Coming off two big outings, Terry Rozier fell back to Earth a little bit, finishing with 15 points (all in the second half), four rebounds, and a game-high seven assists.
Chicago created some separation right before halftime, using a 7-0 run to take a 47-41 lead at the break. Rozier, who went scoreless in the opening two quarters for the first time since Nov. 14, 2021, finally got going with 11 points in the third to help Charlotte stay within five heading into the fourth. However, a deeper Bulls squad that was backed by the returns of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević opened the closing frame on a 22-6 stretch, which basically sealed the deal.
“[Chicago’s] defense is really good. We struggled to score against them last time (a 111-100 road loss on Dec. 6),” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford afterwards. “They were aggressive with Terry. They brought the second defender with a lot of his pick-and-rolls, and we didn’t move the ball the way we needed to.”
Cody Martin (season-high-tying 13 points) and Nick Smith Jr. (10) were the only other Charlotte players to score in double figures. The 91 points matched the Hornets’ second-lowest single-game output of the season. They did well with the possession game – 12 offensive rebounds and only 13 turnovers – and took 15 more shots than Chicago but converted at a much lower efficiency (40.4%) than the Bulls (54.1%).
In what continues to be a cruel revolving door of injuries this season, the Hornets got Brandon Miller (left hip contusion) back from a one-game absence, then lost PJ Washington (right ankle) for the game late in the first quarter. On the year, Charlotte has now utilized 15 different starting lineups over the course of only 33 outings.
Coby White tallied 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, a career-high-tying 10 rebounds and six assists for his second double-double of the season in the win. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points, while LaVine (15 points) and Vučević (11 points) both crossed into double figures in rare appearances off the bench. With the victory, the Bulls have now won 10 of 12 regular season meetings with Charlotte since the start of the 2020-21 campaign (6-1 at the United Center).
The Hornets will return home to face the Bulls once again on Monday, Jan. 8 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Catch all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.
2024-01-05
Hornets Fade In The 4th Quarter For Road-Trip Finale Loss
Sam Perley, NBA.com/Hornets
Bridges Scores 25+ PTS for 3rd Straight Game, Charlotte’s Offense Has Tough Night in Chicago
The Charlotte Hornets held firm for the first three quarters in the Windy City on Friday night, before the hometown Bulls progressively pulled away and sent them to a 104-91 road loss.
Miles Bridges (28 points on 12-of-18 shooting) notched a third straight 25-point performance for the Hornets in the defeat, which is now one away from matching the longest streak of his career (Oct. 22-27, 2021). Coming off two big outings, Terry Rozier fell back to Earth a little bit, finishing with 15 points (all in the second half), four rebounds, and a game-high seven assists.
Chicago created some separation right before halftime, using a 7-0 run to take a 47-41 lead at the break. Rozier, who went scoreless in the opening two quarters for the first time since Nov. 14, 2021, finally got going with 11 points in the third to help Charlotte stay within five heading into the fourth. However, a deeper Bulls squad that was backed by the returns of Zach LaVine and Nikola Vučević opened the closing frame on a 22-6 stretch, which basically sealed the deal.
“[Chicago’s] defense is really good. We struggled to score against them last time (a 111-100 road loss on Dec. 6),” said Hornets Head Coach Steve Clifford afterwards. “They were aggressive with Terry. They brought the second defender with a lot of his pick-and-rolls, and we didn’t move the ball the way we needed to.”
Cody Martin (season-high-tying 13 points) and Nick Smith Jr. (10) were the only other Charlotte players to score in double figures. The 91 points matched the Hornets’ second-lowest single-game output of the season. They did well with the possession game – 12 offensive rebounds and only 13 turnovers – and took 15 more shots than Chicago but converted at a much lower efficiency (40.4%) than the Bulls (54.1%).
In what continues to be a cruel revolving door of injuries this season, the Hornets got Brandon Miller (left hip contusion) back from a one-game absence, then lost PJ Washington (right ankle) for the game late in the first quarter. On the year, Charlotte has now utilized 15 different starting lineups over the course of only 33 outings.
Coby White tallied 22 points on 7-of-12 shooting, a career-high-tying 10 rebounds and six assists for his second double-double of the season in the win. DeMar DeRozan added 17 points, while LaVine (15 points) and Vučević (11 points) both crossed into double figures in rare appearances off the bench. With the victory, the Bulls have now won 10 of 12 regular season meetings with Charlotte since the start of the 2020-21 campaign (6-1 at the United Center).
The Hornets will return home to face the Bulls once again on Monday, Jan. 8 beginning at 7 PM ET at Spectrum Center. Catch all the action on Bally Sports Southeast and WFNZ 92.7 FM.