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Hornets Finishing Short Road Trip Against Bulls in Chicago

  • Charlotte Hornets (28-29) at Chicago Bulls (24-33)
  • Thursday, April 22, 2021 at 9 PM EST (United Center)
  • Bally Sports and WFNZ 610 AM or 102.5 FM
  • Last time out: Bulls won, 123-110 on Jan. 22, 2021 in Charlotte

Hornets’ 2nd-Half Offense Stalls Badly in Loss to New York

After totaling 66 points and 13 three-pointers through the opening two frames of Tuesday night’s outing at Madison Square Garden, the Hornets ran into a brick wall in the third quarter with the Knicks taking control in an eventual 109-97 win. Charlotte simply failed to respond to New York’s physicality during this 12-minute span, finishing with just 16 points and five turnovers, while allowing seven offensive rebounds. PJ Washington (26 points), Terry Rozier (21) and Miles Bridges (15 and 14 rebounds) all had nice performances, but one bad quarter proved too costly in the team’s road-trip opener two nights ago.

New-Look Bulls Searching for More Wins After Deadline Moves

Chicago overhauled its roster at the trade deadline last month, landing All-Star center Nikola Vučević and Al-Farouq Aminu from Orlando, Troy Brown Jr. from Washington and Daniel Theis from Boston in exchange for Wendell Carter Jr., Otto Porter Jr., Daniel Gafford, Luke Kornet and two first-round picks. Vučević – the most prized of the acquisitions – is averaging 23.2 points on 51/47% shooting, 9.9 rebounds and 3.5 assists in 14 games as a Bull, but Chicago’s offense has risen just one spot in the NBA rankings (18th to 17th). The defense though has dropped from 15th (111.6) down to 25th (114.6), with limited depth also factoring into the team’s 5-9 slump.

Zach LaVine – the NBA’s 6th-Leading Scorer – Sidelined for Chicago

To make matters worse for the Bulls following their all-in moves at the deadline, the team has been without All-Star guard Zach LaVine for the past three games after he was placed into Health and Safety Protocols last week. LaVine is currently averaging career highs in scoring (27.5 points), rebounding (5.1) and assists (5.1), as well as field-goal (51%), three-point (42%) and free-throw percentage (85%). He also scored 25 points at Spectrum Center back on Jan. 22 and while his absence has clearly left a major hole in the Bulls’ offense, the team has gone 2-1 heading into a Wednesday night contest in Cleveland.

Preview Quote

“To get through this stretch, we have to lean more defensive and I think we’ve done that in general. We’ve done a fairly good job defensively hanging in there. It’s very difficult within a game to continuously go down and not be able to score and put so much pressure on our defense night to night. I’m going to lean more defense, but I can’t neglect the offense. When we go through those dry spells of 15 points a quarter, I have to try and find something there offensively.” – Hornets Head Coach James Borrego following Wednesday’s practice

Final Thoughts

Heading into the final month of the season, every game for the playoff-hungry Hornets is growing more and more important, particularly against teams hovering in close proximity in the Eastern Conference standings. Charlotte got off to the start it wanted against the Knicks, but will need to carry that same momentum well into the second half if it wants to pick up a crucial win in the Windy City.

Additional Notes

In addition to Zach LaVine’s absence, G Troy Brown Jr. (left ankle sprain) was also listed as doubtful heading into Chicago’s road game in Cleveland on Wednesday night… Charlotte won both regular season meetings with the Bulls at the United Center last year, allowing an average of just 83 points in the two victories… Chicago is 4-9 on the second night of back-to-backs this season (20-24 with at least one day of rest heading into Wednesday night)… The Bulls are just 11-18 at home and 13-15 on the road this season.