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By Sam Smith | 3.13.2015 | 8:48 p.m. CT
The Bulls blew a 19-point second quarter lead in a 101-91 loss to the Charlotte Hornets.
The Bulls fell to 40-27 and close this road trip in Oklahoma City Sunday. The Hornets battling for the final playoff position in the Eastern Conference moved to 29-35.
The Bulls were led by Aaron Brooks with 24 points and Pau Gasol with 18 points and eight rebounds. Gerald Henderson had 20 and Mo Williams had 18 for Charlotte, which had seven players in double figures and a 55-36 rebounding advantage. The Bulls came back late after trailing by 17 with 5:09 left and got within 95-89.
The Bulls had an aggressive start that turned into a season high 35 points in the first quarter for a 35-17 lead as the Bulls shot 70 percent overall with Aaron Brooks and Tony Snell a combined eight of 11. The Bulls opened the second quarter going up 19 but the Hornets had a 22-8 run to get within four before the starters returned and the Bulls led 60-51 at halftime. The third was the Bulls’ poorest quarter of the season, scoring just 10 points as the Hornets took a 77-70 lead going into the fourth quarter.
Observations:
1. The Bulls were dominated on the boards by an undersized Charlotte team with its two best big men out while the Bulls starters continued to play big minutes.
2. The Bulls came out hitting threes, making seven of eight in first quarter. They then fell in love with jumpers despite Al Jefferson and Cody Zeller out and shot just 30 percent in the second quarter and carried that failure to go inside into the second half.
3. It would have been nice to see Doug McDermott finish the second quarter after he scored 10 points in five minutes and came out early as Bulls let a 19-point lead shrink to 60-52 at half.