The Charlotte Hornets erased a double-digit deficit and controlled the final 24 minutes to beat the Chicago Bulls 112-99 on Saturday night at the United Center. The result snapped a three-game skid for Charlotte and dropped Chicago back below .500.
Miles Bridges delivered a decisive performance with 26 points and 14 rebounds. He anchored a depleted frontcourt and finished with a plus-19 rating in 35 minutes.
Brandon Miller added 22 points and played a pivotal role in the Hornets’ surge in the third quarter. Kon Knueppel contributed 18 points, while LaMelo Ball added 17 points and seven assists.
Charlotte improved to 12-23 and moved to 5-2 this season in the second game of back-to-back sets. The Hornets had lost five of seven on the night.
Chicago led 58-50 at halftime and appeared to be in control early. Nikola Vucevic led the charge with 28 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
Ayo Dosunmu provided a spark in the first half, scoring 14 points on 6-for-7 shooting. His half-court buzzer-beater ended the first quarter and energized the home crowd.
After the break the game changed decisively. Charlotte outscored Chicago 32-17 in the third quarter, turning a 15-point deficit into a lead.
Miller hit three of the Hornets’ seven 3-pointers in the period. Chicago shot just 5-of-23 from the field in the quarter, a 21.7 percent mark.
Miller’s pull-up three made it 82-73 with 49.3 seconds left in the third. Dosunmu answered with a driving layup to cut the margin to seven entering the fourth.
Charlotte then pulled away for good early in the final period with a 10-0 run. Miller capped the stretch with a fadeaway jumper that pushed the lead to 105-87 with 4:01 remaining.
The Hornets defeated Chicago 52-43 despite missing several rotation bigs. Moussa Diabate, Ryan Kalkbrenner, Mason Plumlee, Grant Williams and Tidjane Salaun were all sidelined.
Chicago played without Josh Giddey and Coby White for the third straight time. Jalen Smith left in the third quarter after colliding with Ball and was evaluated for a concussion.
Matas Buzelis scored 17 points for the Bulls, who closed out a 3-3 homestand. Chicago shot 27 percent from three-point range and scored just 41 points in the second half.
Charlotte travels to Oklahoma City on Monday evening. Chicago goes to Boston to start a road trip.
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