Terry Rozier scored 39 points, but it wasn’t enough as the Charlotte Hornets dropped their second straight to the Chicago Bulls, 119-112.
Summary
The Hornets forgot what time the game started or something. They fell behind 14-2 in the first four minutes of the game. They still made a game of it before the first quarter came to an end. Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier took turns hitting outside shots and slicing through the lane to tighten the game up, and then JT Thor tossed in a couple buckets to help the Hornets to a one point lead after one quarter.
The second quarter also started ugly, and that one mostly stayed ugly. The Hornets missed their first seven shots of the quarter and didn’t get a field goal until Ish Smith hit a turnaround at the 7:20 mark. In a desperate search for offense, Steve Clifford inserted James Bouknight in place of the struggling Brandon Miller for a spell. He splashed a 3-pointer with one of his first touches of the game. The Hornets trailed by eight at the half.
Bridges and Rozier each hit threes to open the second half and Bryce McGowens tacked on a third after the Bulls tried to answer. The teams traded baskets with just about every active player getting a piece of the action. The Hornets clawed back into the game and had two chances to take the lead, but neither fell. A trio of Bulls 3-pointers pushed their lead back up to a comfortable few possessions and set their lead at seven heading into the fourth quarter.
Rozier was fouled twice on 3-point attempts in the first couple of minutes of the fourth quarter. Billy Donovan challenged the second one out of pure disbelief. It stood, and Rozier made all six of the free throws. He found Nathan Mensah for an alley-oop one possession later to give the Hornets the lead. It didn’t last long. Coby White and Andre Drummond went nuts for the Bulls and kept the Hornets at bay. More heroics by Rozier that included two ridiculous step back 3-pointers brought the Hornets right back up, and Bridges tied it up with a short jumper. The heroics couldn’t make it to one more step back, and both Rozier and DeRozan’s game winners came up short.
The Hornets struggled to start overtime and dug themselves an insurmountable hole. Rozier’s step backs stopped falling. Bridges’ drives stopped bearing fruit. The Hornets fell behind by eight. A couple of buckets by the Nicks made it a little interesting, but the Hornets couldn’t get back over the hump.
The Good
The Hornets badly need Miles Bridges and Terry Rozier to shoulder the offensive burden with all the injuries. They held up their end of the bargain tonight. They combined for 63 points on 36 shot attempts, and that efficiency was actually dampened by some desperation shots in overtime.
Nick Smith continues to be money from three. He hit 3-of-6 shots from deep and is still over 50% from three on the season. He had some flashes inside the arc as well, though he didn’t quite have the most efficient night there.
JT Thor put in some strong minutes off the bench. The box score stats are funky because he had a sequence where it took him four or five tries to tip in his own miss. But he played confident basketball and made plays on both ends of the floor.
The Bad
That’s another howler for Brandon Miller. He’s struggled to find his footing since the calendar turned to 2024, and tonight was the low point. He didn’t score his first points until the fourth quarter and finished 2-of-11 from the field. He’s now 10-of-41 from the field and 4-of-23 from three in three games in January. We’ll call it a rookie wall. He’ll break through it before long.
What’s NExt
The Hornets will host the Kings on Wednesday.
