Nikola Vucevic, Coby White and Thaddeus Young all scored 18 points as the Chicago Bulls thumped the visiting Charlotte Hornets 108-91 on Thursday night.
Lauri Markkanen recorded 11 points and Tomas Satoransky provided 10 points for Chicago, which led by double figures for most of the game. The Bulls (25-34) won for the third time in their past four games.
Devonte’ Graham had 16 points and Miles Bridges added 13 points for the Hornets (28-30), who lost for the sixth time in seven games. Terry Rozier and Brad Wanamaker each finished with 11 points.
Charlotte has failed to reach 100 points in half of its past dozen games. Hornets starting forward Jalen McDaniels didn’t score until the fourth quarter and ended up with three points in 31 minutes.
Vucevic also had 16 rebounds to bolster the Bulls’ 49-39 advantage on the boards. His six assists were one shy of Satoransky’s team-high total.
Vucevic had scored at least 16 points in his first 14 games with the Bulls until a nine-point outing Wednesday against the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Chicago controlled most of the first half and then used a 13-0 run in the third quarter to pull away. Vucevic and Daniel Theis both converted three-point plays during the spurt.
Earlier, the Bulls went up by 13 points in the first quarter just a night after a miserable performance in a loss to Cleveland.
The lead was 58-44 at halftime, with Chicago scoring the final six points of the half. The Hornets were just 5-for-16 on 3-point attempts in the first half and 8-for-31 from long distance for the game.
The Bulls did their damage despite attempting only two free throws in the opening half.
The injury-ravaged Hornets will try to get well with 10 of their next 12 games at home.
Chicago has won both meetings with the Hornets this season with another matchup set for May 6 in Charlotte.
–Field Level Media