FINAL FROM THE UNITED CENTER: Charlotte 133, Bulls 117 (Bulls: 45-36, 27-14 at home).
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls- LaVine (23 pts), Hornets- Ball (24 pts)
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls- Brown and Vucevic (5), Hornets- Harrell (6)
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls- LaVine: 7 Hornets: Ball: 9
CCI RECAP: The Bulls lost and the Raps won; the Bulls are now locked into the sixth seed in the East. The Hornets , playing the second game of a back to back, scored 39 first quarter points and never looked back , leading 79-51 at halftime. LaMelo Ball set the tone early, draining three pointers, going to the rim and passing the rock.
The first time All-Star at 20 years young scored 24 points, grabbed five rebounds and dished out nine. The Hornets recorded seven double-figure scorersand scored 62 points in the paint. Zach LaVine led the Bulls in scoring with 23 points. The Bulls have dropped four straight.
The Bulls have dropped four straight games heading into their regular season finale in Minneosta.
NEXT: Sunday at Minnesota.
CCI STAT OF THE GAME: The Hornets made their first 11 shots and scored 39 first quarter points.
CCI 24 SECONDS NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Milwaukee 131, Detroit 101: Giannis Antetokounmpo with 30 points and 13 rebounds. Detroit missed 15 of its first 16 shots. The Bucks can finish as high as the second seed or go to the third seed.
Toronto 117, Houston 115: Pascal Siakam with 29-12-7. The Rockets lost their sixth straight and finished with the NBA's worst road record at 9-32.
Brooklyn 118, Cleveland 107: Kevin Durant scored 36 points as the Nets moved into a tie for the seventh seed in the East.
Miami 113, Atlanta 109: The Heat finished the game on a 10-2 run.
New York 114, Washington 92: Obi Toppin scored a career high 35 points for the Knicks.
Dallas 128, Portland 78: Luka Doncic will be suspended for Sunday's game after picking up his 16th technical foul on the season.
Los Angeles Lakers 120, Oklahoma City 101: OKC's Jaylen Hoard is putting up big numbers as he scored 27 points and grabbed 14 rebounds.
Phoenix 111, Utah 105: The Suns overcame a 17 point fourth quarter deficit to shock the Jazz.
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