Chicago Bulls: LaVine and Vooch’s return leads to win over Hornets
What Chicago Bulls fans waited for in the last couple of weeks finally happened on the night of May 6. First-year head coach Billy Donovan and the Bulls were able to finally snap their losing skid on May 6, by knocking off the improved Charlotte Hornets on the road at the Spectrum Center. But given the way the Bulls played in the last few weeks, it was hard to realistically expect they would take care of business on the road against a playoff team like the Hornets this week.
Even though there was a lot on the line for the Bulls on May 6, it was hard to shake the feeling of how at odds this team is in the race to land a spot in the play-in tournament down the stretch this season. The Bulls entered the night more than three games behind the Washington Wizards for the final spot in the play-in tournament in the Eastern Conference. And they are even further behind the divisional foe Indiana Pacers.
But the Bulls came out firing against the Hornets on May 6, leading to what would eventually be a double-digit victory over this foe from the Southeast Division. Upon his return from injury in this game, star center Nikola Vucevic was fantastic for the Bulls. He had missed the last two games dealing with an adductor injury.
Return of Nikola Vucevic and Zach LaVine helps Chicago Bulls beat the Hornets
The Bulls got their star duo of Vucevic and first-time All-Star shooting guard Zach LaVine in this win over the Hornets, which came by the final score of 120-99. This was also the most convincing win in at least a few weeks for the Bulls.
This was the first game that the Bulls had LaVine back in the starting five since mid-April. He missed 11 games in a row due to a violation of the league’s health and safety protocol. His mandatory quarantine was up earlier this week, though, leading to his return against the Hornets.
On this night, Vooch gave the Bulls a game-high 29 points on 12-of-24 shooting from the field, 5-of-7 from beyond the arc, but he didn’t have any attempts from the free-throw line. He added a game-high 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals, and one block, to his impressive stat line in this win.
Meanwhile, LaVine gave the Bulls 13 points in 27 minutes on the floor. He shot 5-of-11 from the field, 3-of-8 from beyond the arc, and also didn’t have any attempts from the free-throw line. And LaVine added three rebounds, two assists, and four turnovers, to his stat line on the night.
More so than anything else, the return of LaVine and Vooch to the starting five can signal some improved level of hope down the stretch this season. The Bulls are now within three games of a spot in the play-in tournament, closing in on the Wizards at least a little bit.
Granted, the Wizards are currently in a fourth-quarter battle with the Toronto Raptors.
The Bulls also got an efficient night from some of the players off of their bench. Lauri Markkanen gave the team an efficient 10 points on 4-of-5 shooting from the field in just 21 minutes in this game. He also added seven rebounds, one assist, one steal, and two blocks.
Veteran shooting guard Garrett Temple was the other Bulls player off the bench to score in double digits on the night. He had 12.
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Following this 21-point win over the Hornets, the Bulls now hold a record of 27-39. Next up in the back-end of back-to-back games for LaVine, Vooch, and the Bulls is another difficult matchup with the Boston Celtics at home at the United Center on May 7.