Charlotte Hornets fall to the Chicago Bulls in overtime, 119-111
Despite a monster game from Dwight Howard, the Charlotte Hornets fell to the Chicago Bulls who have the worst record in the NBA.
The Charlotte Hornets (9-15) were defeated by the Chicago Bulls (4-20) as they have now lost two straight games and six of their last seven. The Hornets’ defense continues to struggle as they allowed the second-worst scoring team in the NBA to score way above their average (95.7). Of the two games that Chicago has won so far this season, two of them have come against the Hornets.
Charlotte was a bit shorthanded as they were without Cody Zeller (left knee meniscus tear) and Frank Kaminsky (right ankle sprain). Jeremy Lamb went down with a shin contusion in the second quarter and did not return. While Julyan Stone was on assignment with the Greensboro Swarm to help rehab his hamstring injury, two-way player Mangok Mathiang was called up to the Hornets for this game.
Game Story
This game was close back and forth game throughout as there were 20 ties and 17 lead changes while neither team led by more than eight points. The turning point came to start the fourth quarter. Charlotte had a four-point lead that was quickly erased when Chicago started the fourth making all of their first nine shots. Even though the Hornets forced OT, they didn’t play well on either side of the ball in the extra five minutes. The Bulls outscored the Hornets 13-5 in the overtime period.
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Player of the Game
On his 32nd birthday, Dwight Howard recorded his second 20/20 game of the season as he finished with 25 points and 20 rebounds. The birthday boy also added six blocks to his stat line as he played a team-high 43 minutes. His teams are now 4-3 when playing on his birthday throughout his career.
Kemba Walker added 20 points and five assists but struggled shooting from the field making only five of 16 shot attempts. Marvin Williams scored 17 points to go along with eight boards while Michael Kidd-Gilchrist had 15 points and seven rebounds on the night. Treveon Graham was a bit of a surprise contributor with 12 points off of the bench.
The Bulls were led by rookie Lauri Markkanen who finished with 24 points and 12 rebounds. Kris Dunn and Robin Lopez also recorded double-doubles as Dunn put up 20 points and 12 assists while Lopez scored 19 points and grabbed 10 boards. Justin Holiday (17) and David Nwaba (11) rounded out Chicago’s double-figure scorers.
Highlight of the Night:
Tweet of the Game:
Dwight Howard: first player in Bobcats/Hornets history with 25 points, 20 rebounds and 5 blocks in a game
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) December 9, 2017
"Quick Stings"
- Charlotte’s now 1-1 in overtime games this season.
- Dwight grabbed 15 rebounds for the eighth time this year.
- Howard recorded his 13th double-double in 2017-18.
- Chicago’s second unit outscored Charlotte’s bench 36-25.
- The Bulls scored 56 points in the paint.
With the loss, Charlotte falls to 0-2 against Chicago on the season. The Hornets have now lost four straight regular-season games to the Bulls.. They are scheduled to meet two more times this season with the next affair being on February 27th.
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In their next outing, the Hornets will host the Los Angeles Lakers in the second night of a back-to-back. It will be the first meeting between the two sides this season but Charlotte has had recent success against LA winning their last five games dating back to 2014. They will now look to snap a two-game losing streak and avoid losing a third home game in a row.