Thursday, December 04, 2014
Sports News

Bulls bounce back against reeling Hornets

Send a link to a friend  Share

[December 04, 2014]  CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Tom Thibodeau wants the Chicago Bulls to be mentally and physically tough, and they certainly were Wednesday night.

One night after suffering a draining double-overtime loss to Dallas in Chicago, the Bulls bounced back and rolled to a 102-95 victory over the reeling Charlotte Hornets.

Pau Gasol led the way with 19 points and 15 rebounds, and fellow big men Joakim Noah and Nikola Mirotic also had double-doubles in a solid performance from start to finish.

The Bulls led by as many as 13 in the second half, and took control for good with an 8-0 spurt that turned into a 15-4 run midway through the fourth quarter.

Gasol, who played 50 minutes in the double-overtime loss to Dallas and 36 on Wednesday night, was pleased with the way the team responded to adversity on several fronts.

"I think the only way to put last night behind us is to get a nice game here and get a good win, in spite of the circumstances -- the fatigue, getting in here late, getting back-to-back," Gasol said. "We had every excuse, pretty much, but we came out and we took care of business. We played together. We dug in and gave everything we had."

The Bulls (12-7) were playing their eighth road game in the last nine games after a seven-game, 15-day trip that preceded the loss to the Mavericks. They are now 10-3 this season on the road.

"Tonight I loved the toughness of our guys," Thibodeau said. "To bounce back, and this has been a challenge coming off a 15-day trip, have one home game, and turn around the next night, back-to-back, and be ready, I'm very pleased.

"Being ready to play is important. Bouncing back after a tough loss last night shows you the resiliency of the team. We had a number of guys step up. The bench played very, very well. I thought we shared the ball well, kept our turnovers down, defended, rebounded, covered the line, and that's what you need to do to win."

Noah finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Mirotic had 11 points and 12 rebounds, giving all three Chicago big men double-doubles. The Bulls also got 15 points each from guards Jimmy Butler and Derrick Rose, and 12 points from guard Kirk Hinrich.

The Bulls hit 12 3-pointers, including three each from Hinrich and forward Mike Dunleavy.

Hinrich was a great example of the Bulls' resiliency. He had been the goat of the loss to Dallas, committing a foul on a 3-point shot that allowed the Mavs to get to overtime, but wound up hitting two clutch 3-pointers in the final three minutes Wednesday night.

"This was a big win," Hinrich said. "It was a gut-check. After the way we lost last night, I'm just proud of the guys for hanging in there and getting one tonight."

[to top of second column]

The Hornets (4-15) suffered their 10th straight loss, and this one followed a script similar to many of the others.

Charlotte hung around for three quarters, trailing just 72-71 going into the fourth, but buckled when the Bulls went on their run midway through the final period.

Guard Kemba Walker scored 23 and guard Lance Stephenson had 20 points and eight rebounds for the Hornets. But leading scorer Al Jefferson was held to 13 points and seven rebounds.

"Obviously, the difference in the game was the 3-point shooting," Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. "We played hard. We did some good things, but obviously we didn't do enough to win."

Walker said, "We've been playing well. It's a few games here and there that we haven't played so well. We've had so many games that we played well that we just didn't follow through. That's been our biggest problem."

NOTES: Hornets F Michael Kidd-Gilchrist (stress reaction right foot) missed his 11th straight game and G Gary Neal (left shoulder sprain) missed his fourth straight. F Marvin Williams (shoulder) returned after missing the previous two games. ... The Bulls were without F Taj Gibson (left ankle) and F Doug McDermott (right knee). ... Hornets G Jeffery Taylor continues to serve a 24-game suspension. ... Bulls G Jimmy Butler came into the game leading the NBA in minutes played, averaging 39.8. He was also 10th in scoring at 22.0. ... The Hornets were coming off a 105-75 loss at Atlanta on Saturday. They trailed by as many as 44. ... The Bulls were playing the eighth road game in their last nine games after going 4-3 on a recent seven-game trip. ... Hornets coach Steve Clifford and Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau were assistants together in Houston from 2003 to 2007. ... The Hornets were opening a three-game homestand. They'll host New York on Friday. ... The Bulls will return home to face Golden State on Saturday.

[© 2014 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2014 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

< Sports index

Back to top