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 The Hornets roared back from a 19-point first-half deficit and then
dominated the second half en route to a 101-91 victory.
It was a shocking turnaround for a team that lost by 26 at home to
Washington Monday and then played horribly in a seven-point home
loss to Sacramento on Wednesday. But it was exactly what this team
needed as it tries to stay in the hunt for the Eastern Conference's
eighth and final playoff spot.
"It was a great win for us," said center Bismack Biyombo, who filled
in for injured center Al Jefferson and finished with 10 points and
10 rebounds. "We played a couple bad games in a row and we watched a
lot of film and saw all the mistakes. Mistakes after mistakes. So we
had to go out tonight and play our game, which is to eliminate the
mistakes and play better defense. I thought in the second half we
did a very good job."
The Hornets (29-35) outscored Chicago 25-10 in the third quarter and
16-6 to open the fourth, eventually leading by as many as 18 in the
fourth quarter. The Bulls had raced to a 40-21 lead two minutes into
the second quarter.
"Obviously we didn't come out in the first half with any energy,"
said guard Gerald Henderson, who led seven double-figure scorers
with 20 points. "There was no attention to detail on the defensive
end. If we had sustained that kind of defensive effort, there's no
chance we win. But that second half we came out and we really
focused on the defensive end. And we got started up offensively,
too."
Coach Steve Clifford, who ripped his team both Monday and Wednesday
night, said the turnaround might have been the Hornets' best home
performance all season.
"Our guys hung in there and did a great job," Clifford said. "A lot
of guys played well. The big thing was, even when we were down 19,
we stayed with the game and played hard, and our defense in the
third quarter was obviously tremendous."
Besides Henderson's 20 points, the Hornets got 18 points from guard
Mo Williams, 13 from forward Michael Kidd-Gilchrist, 12 from forward
Marvin Williams, and 10 each from center Jason Maxiell, guard Kemba
Walker, and Biyombo.
The Hornets held a whopping 55-36 rebound advantage with 17
offensive rebounds that they turned into 27 second-chance points.
Jefferson (knee) and forward Cody Zeller (shoulder) did not play.
The Bulls (40-27) lost for the fourth time in their last five games.
They came out red-hot, hitting their first six 3-point attempts and
hitting 11 of their first 13. But they went cold midway through the
second quarter and never got into a rhythm again. They finished
shooting 37.8 percent from the field and wound up 15 of 32 from
3-point range.
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"The thing is, you build a cushion and if you let your guard down
even a little bit, you are going to be in trouble," Bulls coach Tom
Thibodeau said. "That is basically what happened. We made 15
3-pointers and they shot 37 percent but when you give them two and
three attempts at it, it's a problem."
Guard Aaron Brooks led the Bulls with 24 points. Center Pau Gasol
scored 18, forward Tony Snell scored 17 with five 3-pointers,
forward Nikola Mirotic scored 15, and forward Doug McDermott
finished with 13.
The Bulls were without guard Jimmy Butler (elbow), forward Taj
Gibson (ankle) and guard Derrick Rose (knee). Forward Joakim Noah
returned to the lineup but was ineffective, finishing with one point
and six rebounds.
Gasol was not happy about the rebound and hustle stats.
"It's about will," Gasol said. "It's about determination and how bad
you want it. I don't care how tired you are. I might be tired. I
might be sore. You can't really think about those things. You have
to think, 'What can I do to help my team win?' You have to figure
out a way to do it. We just have to have more of a sense of urgency,
consistently for 48 minutes."
NOTES: The teams split the previous two games this season. The Bulls
won 102-95 in Charlotte on Dec. 3, then the Hornets won in Chicago
98-86 on Feb. 25. The teams will meet again in Chicago on March 23.
... The Bulls were playing the second game on a three-game road
trip. It started with a 104-95 overtime win at Philadelphia
Wednesday and will end at Oklahoma City Sunday afternoon. ... The
Hornets are now 10-4 when C Bismack Biyombo starts. ... The Hornets
have had nine sellouts at Time Warner Cable Arena this season, which
is two more than the previous two seasons combined. Charlotte ranks
16th in the NBA in attendance, after finishing 25th last season. ...
The Hornets were closing out a three-game home stand. They will now
head west for an eight-day trip, starting at Utah Monday. They'll
also play the LA Clippers, Sacramento, Minnesota and Chicago on the
trip.
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