Hornets 125, Bulls 123 – January 17, 2025

To the likely dismay of Charles Lee and Billy Donovan, defense was optional Friday night at the United Center.

The Chicago Bulls quickly found themselves down to the 14th-seeded Charlotte Hornets, who started the night 5-7 from the field. Several defensive breakdowns forced Donovan to call one of his early vintage timeouts. Dropping four of their last five games, it felt like we could be in for another low-stakes night from the Bulls, especially when they found themselves down by double digits early in the second quarter.

However, the young people would not let that happen. The second unit helped spark a 7-0 run to cut the Hornets’ lead to 49-44. Jalen Smith finished strong around the rim, while Matas Buzelis got a full-court feed for the slam. The pace and liveliness of the game changed completely from there. Players chased loose balls, soared for rebounds and looked for easy buckets in transition. Coby White and Josh Giddey were a big part of making sure the fire the second unit started didn’t go out.

Does this now mean that the defensive execution has improved? Not in the least. The Bulls reserved all their energy for scoring the basketball, and the same could be said for the Charlotte Hornets. By the time the first half buzzer sounded, the score was surprisingly 73-71 with the Hornets in the lead. Both teams shot up to 55.0 percent from the field.

It wasn’t until the third quarter that the Bulls finally tried to play a two-way game. Chicago did a much better job of penetrating the paint and moving their feet defensively. The Hornets helped them with some sloppy ball handling, but the Bulls’ activity led to a handful of turnovers and extra possessions. Zach LaVine helped make sure the Bulls took full advantage of those mistakes, scoring 10 of his 19 points in the quarter.

The Bulls would rattle off a 14-4 run to give themselves a 103-98 lead heading into the final 12 minutes. Once again the bench provided some important minutes as Julian Phillips got to the line twice in the last few minutes.

Charlotte had a counterattack ready. They would go on to start the fourth quarter on a 17-2 run, dominating the Bulls with their physicality and athleticism in the paint. The Bulls didn’t score their first bucket of the frame until the 7:24 mark, and their frustration was evident. After Nikola Vucevic didn’t hear the whistle after two misses on the edge, he stormed the referee with some choice words. That led to a minor technical foul that put the Hornets up 116-105.

I can’t decide if what happened over the next six minutes was a great comeback or an epic collapse. But I think it’s the former? The Bulls started to look a little more like themselves in the third quarter, piling up stops and creating some good looks offensively. Vucevic turned his frustration into fuel, scoring 15 of the Bulls’ final 18 points. Mark Williams may have given the Bulls fits at one end, but Vucevic taught the 23-year-old a thing or two at the other end.

Before we knew it, the Bulls found themselves down just 125-123 with a chance to steal the game after a missed Vasilije Micic free throw. They came out of the timeout with a great play design that led to an open Vucevic three at the top of the key. The big man hit the front of the rim before Zach LaVine grabbed the offensive rebound. He would send a contested jumper up the middle that ended up in the hands of Ayo Dosunmu, who had a third chance to tie the game. He hit the side of the backboard.

This is what we call an elite tank loss! The Bulls have now lost five of their last six games and go to a dismal 8-15 at the United Center.

Playing characters

Nikola Vucevic – A
Statistics: 40 PTS, 13 ROPE, 3 AST

Despite going up against a physically imposing seven-footer in Mark Williams, Nikola Vucevic looked more than comfortable. The Bulls did a good job setting him up in his spots down low, and Vucevic executed to the tune of a 17-25 shooting effort. Do you think they had the play in the Warriors front office?

Coby White – A-
Statistics: 18 PTS, 8 AST, 5 RIB

Coby White’s stats may not jump off the page, but he played a significant role in raising the energy level. He also shot 6-7 from the field and played some scrappy defense down the stretch.

Zach LaVine – B
Statistics: 19 PTS, 8 AST, 6 RIB, 2 STL

Zach LaVine realized that Nikola Vucevic had it going on tonight and made sure to keep feeding the big man. Without his scoring in the third quarter, the Bulls likely let this game get away from them.

Lonzo Ball – B-
Statistics: 6 PTS, 3 AST, 3 RIB, 3 STL

Lonzo Ball finished the night with a +16 and made several heads-up plays. A little more help from center would have been nice though (2-6 3PT). He moves to 2-2 against his younger brother.

Josh Giddey – C-
Statistics: 6 PTS, 5 AST, 5 RIB

I actually thought Josh Giddey did a pretty solid job early in this game, but Billy Donovan clearly didn’t think this was the matchup for him. His lack of defense played a big part in keeping him to just 26 minutes tonight.

Patrick Williams – D
Statistics: 5 PTS, 1 AST, 2 BLK

In a game against one of the more active rebounding teams in the league with good size on the wings, Patrick Williams was a non-factor. Billy Donovan benched him in the second half and rightly so. Things are getting pretty bleak for the 23-year-old.

Box Score

See the full box score here.