Postgame Coverage: Game Gallery | Fashion Gallery | Williams Highlights | Coach Borrego | Devonte' Graham
The Charlotte Hornets found themselves on the wrong end of an absolutely unbelievable finish, as they dropped a 116-115 heartbreaker to the visiting Chicago Bulls on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Spectrum Center.
Terry Rozier finished with a game-high 28 points on 8-of-12 shooting (3-of-6 from three) and five assists in the loss. Marvin Williams added another 21 points (19 in the second half) on an efficient 9-of-10 shooting and five rebounds in 21 minutes off the bench.
Trailing 68-62 with 5:25 left in the third, Charlotte unrolled a 19-1 run to open up a 12-point lead with 10:47 remaining on the clock. Chicago continued to chip away and facing an eight-point deficit with 40 seconds to go, Zach LaVine drilled his 11th and 12th three-pointers of the night as part of an 8-2 Bulls run to draw within three.
Devonte’ Graham hit two free throws at the other end with 14.7 seconds left, giving the Hornets a 115-110 advantage. Tomáš Satoranský sank another triple with eight seconds left and after Charlotte turned it over on the inbounds, LaVine raced out to the three-point line and fired off what would ultimately be the game-winner.
“Honestly, I’m still sitting here trying to process it myself,” said Williams afterwards. “I’ve played in a lot of games, a lot of games and I’m still just kind of trying to process it. That was a tough game.”
Graham added, “I mean that’s just a tough, tough loss. I mean especially for me, turning the ball over right there in that situation. But Zach made an extreme shot and you just have to tip your hat to him for that. They just started making shots, especially late. I felt like we were playing good defense in the fourth. We went back and forth at times, but we definitely have a couple offensive rebounds that could have went our way.”
Graham racked up 18 points and a game-high 10 assists for his fifth double-double of the campaign. Bismack Biyombo notched his first double-double of the season, tallying 11 points and a game-high 12 rebounds, while Cody Zeller (14) and Miles Bridges (11) also scored in double figures for Charlotte.
LaVine finished the night with an astounding 49 points, knocking down 13-of-17 three-point attempts in the process (7-of-9 in the fourth quarter). This three-pointer total is tied for the second-highest single-game mark in NBA history, trailing only Klay Thompson’s 14 in Chicago on Oct. 29, 2018. Coby White (28), Wendell Carter Jr. (17) and Satoranský (10) rounded out the Bulls’ double-digit scorers.
Chicago knocked down 22-of-47 total three-point attempts (46.8%) and scored 22 points off 20 Charlotte turnovers. The Bulls outscored the Hornets, 47-41, in the fourth after scoring just 13 in the third, the fewest the latter had surrounded in the opening 12 minutes of the second half since December 2016.
The Hornets will return to the road to face the Miami Heat on Monday, Nov. 25 beginning at 7:30 PM EST. Watch the game on Fox Sports Southeast or listen on WFNZ 610 or the Hornets app.