The Charlotte Hornets were blown out in the second quarter for the second straight game as they lost to the Bulls, 131-117.
The summary
The Hornets got to a scorching hot start. Seth Curry led the way with eight quick points with some ball handling reminiscent of his older brother.
tuff lay from seth@sdotcurry | 🎥 @FDSN_Hornets pic.twitter.com/fWMjYgU6yQ
— Charlotte Hornets (@hornets) April 6, 2025
The Bulls answered with three straight threes of their own to undo the Hornets’ early lead. After a frenetic first quarter, the home team trailed by one.
Charlotte struggled defensively in the second quarter, and it’s ultimately where they lost the game. Coby White got a rhythm at the free throw line and went off for 18 points in the period. He made half of the Bulls eight second quarter threes and blew the game wide open. The Hornets struggled to keep pace with their counterparts, who pushed the pace every chance they got and generally got good looks out of it. By halftime, the Hornets were down 20.
The Bulls went almost three minutes without a point to start the second half, and the Hornets looked like they were going to threaten a second half push. They got within 11 at one point thanks to significantly better focus on the defensive end. The Bulls ended up not making a three for the entire quarter as the Hornets made a concerted effort to get them off the line. The offense wasn’t a thing of beauty by any means, but it was enough to cut six points off the deficit heading into the fourth.
Most of the fourth quarter was played right around that 14 point margin. Neither team was able to guard the other without fouling and both teams found scoring relatively easy to come by. The Hornets turned the ball over a couple times late and that led to a Bulls run that put the game out of reach around the three minute mark. The Hornets rallied late with some and-1s to make the score look nicer, but they never got the game close enough to put the final result in doubt.
The good
KJ Simpson impressed me again. He had a stretch where he made three straight floaters in the second quarter to slow down what ended up being the game deciding run. He has a few plays a game where he darts in to recover an offensive rebound or loose ball. He had seven assists and actually made his jumpers on his way to 18 points.
All of the Hornets bigs had strong games. Mark Williams made a number of his trademark push shots in the paint and put up a relatively effortless 22 points. Jusuf Nurkic couldn’t be stopped inside either. Moussa Diabate crossed up Nikola Vucevic and drew a foul.
Seth Curry made another three and Taj Gibson played another game as they chase milestones.
The Bad
It’s been a pretty tough home stretch for Miles Bridges. He didn’t seem very locked in for the early start, and I think he had more asks for foul calls than points in the game.
Nick Smith Jr. has had his own struggles in the later parts of the season. He was 0-of-7 from three and I think just about every one of his misses was short. He’s not shooting a confident ball right now, and it seems to be affecting the rest of his game. He’s had a hard time making an impact when the shot isn’t falling.
What’s Next
One more home game left on the schedule. That comes on Tuesday against a Grizzlies team that badly needs wins. They are currently eighth in the West, but they’re only a half game behind the fourth place Nuggets.
