Bulls ride balanced attack, exact revenge on Hornets

[February 03, 2023]  Ayo Dosunmu scored 22 points on 9-for-10 shooting from the field to boost the Chicago Bulls past the visiting Charlotte Hornets for a 114-98 victory Thursday night.

Reserve Coby White, playing against his home-state team, scored 20 points and Nikola Vucevic had 17 points and 12 rebounds as the Bulls avenged a road loss from a week earlier. Andre Drummond came off the bench for 15 points and 11 rebounds and DeMar DeRozan also had 15 points.

Chicago overcame a slow night from guard Zach LaVine, who was limited to 10 points on 3-for-8 shooting.

Terry Rozier had 23 points, LaMelo Ball had a late surge to finish with 19 points and eight rebounds before he was ejected and Mason Plumlee supplied 16 points and 11 rebounds for Charlotte. Mark Williams came off the bench to notch 13 points.

The Hornets, who've lost two straight games, shot 7-for-35 on 3-pointers.

When the Hornets threatened to make a late run, the Bulls responded. Chicago scored on its ensuing possession after a Charlotte basket four straight times inside the last 5 1/2 minutes to prevent the margin from getting closer than seven points.

At the two-minute mark, Rozier missed a 3-pointer that would have trimmed the gap to four points. LaVine converted at the rim at the other end to begin a 9-0 scoring run that came, in part, because of Ball's two technical fouls and subsequent ejection.

The Bulls scored the first 10 points of the second half for a 63-49 lead. Rozier scored the next seven points to keep Charlotte from a huge deficit.

Feb 2, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Charlotte Hornets guard Terry Rozier (3) is defended by Chicago Bulls forward Patrick Williams (44) and forward DeMar DeRozan (11) during the second half at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports

But the Bulls drained four 3-point shots in the first six minutes of the third quarter, with the last two of those coming from DeRozan.

Chicago held the Hornets to four points across the last three minutes of the third quarter for an 85-70 advantage.

The Hornets also had ragged stretch of defense early in the game, giving up 31 points in the first quarter. Chicago led 53-49 at halftime.

--Field Level Media

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