GAME NIGHT FROM CHARLOTTE: Bulls (20-40, 7-23 on the road) at Hornets (27-33, 17-15 at home)
TV: NBC Sports Chicago: Neil Funk and Stacey King: 6PM CT tipoff.
RADIO: 670 The Score: Chuck Swirsky, Bill Wennington and Steve Kashul 5:45 CT pre.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: LaVine: 17. Hornets: Walker: 22.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Markkanen: 7. Hornets: Howard: 12.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn: 6. Hornets: Walker 5.
CCI 24 SECONDS COMMENTARY: After arriving in Charlotte at 1:30AM ET, the Bulls have a quick turn around tonight against the Hornets. The Hornets have won four straight and are four games behind the eighth-seed Miami Heat. Kemba Walker, once again, is doing it all, averaging nearly 23 per game and assisting on nearly six per contest. Dwight Howard is showing flashes of returning to the level that made him a dominant big man, but needs to remain consistent if the Hornets expect to be in the playoff picture the first week of April. Frank Kaminsky is re-energized and playing solid ball post All Star break. With the Hornets in search of a new General Manager with the departure of Rich Cho, the Hornets are looking to close strong, as they slide into the 2018 off season, but still haven’t given up hope of a postseason berth.
Zach LaVine returns to the starting lineup tonight, after resting last night against the Nets.
LAST NIGHT IN BROOKLYN: Nets 104 Bulls 87.
LEADING SCORERS: Bulls: Dunn: 23. Nets: Crabbe: 21.
LEADING REBOUNDERS: Bulls: Valentine: 13. Nets: Allen and Cunningham each with 9.
LEADING ASSISTS: Bulls: Dunn: 4. Dinwiddie: 9.
CCI 24 SECONDS COMMENTARY: The Bulls led by two at halftime, but the Nets started the third quarter riding the three ball of Alan Crabbe and the ferocious interior dunk-a-thon of one Jarrett Allen. Each scored ten points in the quarter. Allen was a nemesis all night. Of his eight made field goals, seven were slams. The Bulls did have some positives with Kris Dunn providing some offense, along with Lauri Markkanen. They combined for 42 of the Bulls' 87 points. Despite a difficult shooting night, Denzel Valentine registered his fifth double-double with 11 points and 13 rebounds.
NBA NEWS AND NOTES
Should I simply call this the daily Anthony Davis report? Seriously. His robust numbers are staggering, as the Pelicans are riding a six game win streak. The Pelicans come from behind to beat Phoenix, 125-116. Davis with 53 points, 17 rebounds, 5 blocks. He joins Bob McAdoo as the only players with 50-15-5 since blocks were tracked in 1973-74 (ESPN). You want more numbers? I’ve got them. 6 Game Average: 41.5 points 14.8 rebounds. 3.2 blocks 3.0 steals. These are video game numbers. Crazy.
Toronto 123 Detroit 94. The Pistons have lost three straight and six of seven. Raps go to 25-2 at home.
Houston 96 Utah 85. The Rockets post their 13th straight win.
Boston 109 Memphis 98. Irving scored 25 points in three quarters. Bob Cousy approves of Irving’s play and that’s a VERY high compliment. The Grizzlies have dropped ten straight games and post a 5-23 road record.
OKC 112 Orlando 105. Paul George with 26 points.
Minnesota 118 Sacramento 100. KAT with a 26-17 game. The tough part of the schedule is awaiting the Timberwolves. We’ll learn more about how they handle adversity without Jimmy Butler.
Lakers 123 ATL 104. LA picks up win #26, matching last year’s total. The Lakers have won three straight. 9 double figure scorers.
Golden State 123 NY 111. The Warriors have won eight straight over the Knicks. They’re 3-0 after the break.
Dallas 109 Indiana 103. The Mavs end a three game slide, scoring 41 points in the fourth quarter.
Thanks for reading CCI. Email me at cswirsky@bulls.com or Twitter: @ctsbulls.
Always a pleasure!