In a game of April basketball between two eliminated clubs, Chicago found a tight win over Charlotte.
Perhaps it wasn’t the prettiest of billings; the 26-51 Chicago Bulls and 33-44 Charlotte Hornets. However, fans who took time to tune in found a not-too-shabby game of basketball, all things considered.
Overall, tonight’s game was very close. The first half of play ended with Chicago ahead at home, 53-47. The trend of the game was a back-and-forth battle between two teams eliminated from playoff contention.
Lauri Markkanen provided an early treat, scoring 10 easy points in the first quarter of play. He’d only play 24 total minutes, much of which came in the first half. Markkanen ended up looking great for the second straight game, scoring 24 points and adding 7 rebounds. Plus, he shot a crisp 8-of-14 from the field and a further impressive 5-of-6 from three.
"Lauri is shooting the ball really well. He's playing with confidence and great purpose. Our guys are doing a great job finding him, we're doing a lot of simple things well. He's really playing efficiently" - Coach Hoiberg
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 4, 2018
The Bulls saw nice performances from newcomer Sean Kilpatrick and from Jerian Grant, one of the few remaining (healthy) players who started the season with Chicago. In the first half, both found nice set-ups for teammates.
Following his alma mater Villanova taking home the NCAA Championship last night, Ryan Arcidiacono played a nice 24 minutes of basketball. He scored just 1 point, but made very nice passes, finishing with 3 assists, 2 steals, 4 rebounds, and 2 turnovers. Arcidiacono played with incredible control, which came as a surprise.
Another surprise came from the sloppy play of the Charlotte Hornets, who turned the ball over 20 times. Charlotte ranks third in the NBA in TOs per game (12.6), but couldn’t control the rock. allowing 28 Chicago points off of turnovers.
When it came to crunch time, the Bulls looked for role players to lead the way.
Throughout play, the Bulls struggled to find an answer for Dwight Howard, who had 23 points, 17 rebounds (including 5 offensive). He shot well (7-of-11) and found his way to the line, scoring 9 points off of free-throws.
In acknowledgment of the tank, Fred Hoiberg decided to roll without his two best remaining options late. Markkanen and Bobby Portis sat on the bench while Arcidiacono, Grant, Kilpatrick, David Nwaba, and Cristiano Felicio closed the game.
However, when it came to closing, Sean Kilpatrick had the magic to seal a Bulls victory. His three-point shot with 0:56 left in the fourth gave Chicago a 118-114 lead and all the momentum. Kilpatrick had a nice night overall, scoring 21 points on 7-of-17 shooting and committing 0 turnovers.
Kilpatrick with the break away dunk 🙌 pic.twitter.com/qPhL6x90km
— Chicago Bulls (@chicagobulls) April 4, 2018
The Bulls are now winners of three-in-a-row with 4 games left in the season. They also took the season series from the Hornets, winning 3-of-4.
Next: Markkanen earns player of the game against Hornets
Next, the Bulls head to Boston to see the No. 2 seed Celtics.