The Bulls were sloppy on Tuesday night, and Charlotte used a massive 3rd quarter put the game away early.
The Chicago Bulls came into Tuesday night looking to avoid their 10th straight loss, or at the very least, put up a solid effort and avoid a blowout loss like they did when they did when they lost 105-99 to the New York Knicks on Sunday.
Instead, they left the United Center with a 10-game losing streak and a crushing 131-99 loss to the Hornets.
Chicago fought hard to start the game, going into the half down 56-55. To be clear, they fought hard offensively, matching Charlotte shot for shot and keeping them off of the free throw line.
Matas Buzelis was aggressive from the start and ended the night as essentially the only bright spot for Chicago. He threw down a massive putback dunk early and looked as if Billy Donovan has really allowed him to explore his capabilities as primary option on offense. Buzelis got up 11 attempts from 3-point range in 33 minutes, draining 6 of them, finishing the night with a game-high 32 points.
With Buzelis locked in and the team hitting 3-pointers at an excellent rate, it seemed like we were destined for a nail biting finish at the United Center…
But then the third quarter happened.
The Bulls were completely dominated in a third quarter the Hornets won 42-16. The outrageous 26-point deficit was built up by constant turnovers by Chicago, which the Hornets gladly and quickly turned into points.
Chicago finished the night with 19 turnovers, with their lead ball handler in Josh Giddey committing 5 of those 19 turnovers.
Things haven’t looked easy for Giddey since returning from a calf injury, and whether it is getting used to many new teammates or simply getting back into game shape, the results just aren’t there like they were at the beginning of the season. He finished the night 3-11 from the field for 8 points, 2 rebounds, 5 assists and the aforementioned 5 turnovers.
Chicago was dominated so thoroughly in the third quarter that by the start of the fourth, the United Center crowd was completely out of it.
Coby White was solid albeit not exciting in his Hornets debut, finishing with 10 points and 4 assists in 15 minutes off the bench. White was more interested in setting up his new teammates than putting up shots, but still managed to make a pair of 3-pointers on the evening. He received a great tribute video from the Bulls, one of the few positive moments for Chicago fans on the evening.
The Bulls sloppy play and lack of crisp ball movement crushed what was a stellar night from Matas Buzelis, who only committed two turnovers on a night where seemingly everyone was having trouble holding onto the ball.