The Charlotte Hornets lost to the Chicago Bulls in overtime in a game that will go down as a historic display of ineptitude.

The Summary

The Hornets got off to their first good start in what feels like a very long time. Seth Curry scored Charlotte’s first 12 points as they raced out to an early lead. They forced the Bulls into a bunch of contested threes on the other end and secured almost every rebound. KJ Simpson had a layup-inbound steal-layup-and-1 sequence about midway through the quarter. All of that culminated in a 24-15 lead after the first quarter.

The Hornets offense dried up in a big way in the second quarter. While they were clanking shots, the Bulls found their rhythm from deep and eventually erased their double digit deficit. Curry added another five points and Mark Williams had an electrifying stretch near the end of the half, but the Hornets still trailed by six at the break.

Miles Bridges and Mark Williams bullied the Bulls inside before Josh Green chipped in a couple buckets as part of a 17-3 start to the third quarter. The Bulls were able to bounce back with a run of their own and recaptured a two point lead heading into the fourth quarter.

It took the Hornets nearly three minutes to find their first points of the fourth quarter, but they defended well enough in that time to keep the game close. Williams and Bridges rediscovered the aggressiveness that they led off the second half with, and it helped the Hornets set a claw back in. Coby White had a chance to put the game away with a fast break layup, but he bobbled the ball away and gave the Hornets life. Nikola Vucevic gave the Hornets a gift of his own by missing two free throws with the Bulls up three and six seconds left. The Hornets drew up a play for Bridge’s, who got swallowed up outside the three point line. He ducked under the defender’s arm and shot a double pump 3-point attempt that somehow went in.

The momentum did not carry into overtime. The Bulls scored the first eight points of the period while the Hornets threw up some wild misses from behind the arc. They dug themselves into a hole that they couldn’t dig themselves out.

The Good

I feel like I say this every few weeks or so. Miles Bridges can be exactly what this Hornets team needs when he makes a point to put his head down and attack the basket. After he couldn’t get any of his first 3-point attempts to go in the first half, he turned into a wrecking ball in the second half, and the Bulls struggled to stop him once he did that. He needs to be like that from the outset of every game.

Mark Williams was a force on both ends of the floor, especially in the second half. It’s nice to see him healthy. His touch around the basket is a welcome sight for a team that’s otherwise been devoid of interior scoring this season.

The Bad

The two teams combined for what’s apparently an NBA record 75 missed 3-point attempts. It speaks to some good Hornets defense, as they funneled threes to some of the Bulls weaker shooters, but it was another disappointing outing offensively. This team just has so many nights where they can’t buy a bucket.

What’s NExt

The Hornets get a days off over the new year before visiting the Pistons on Friday.