The Chicago Bulls escaped with an overtime victory in Charlotte Monday night over the Hornets. The Bulls had a late lead that they were unable to secure allowing a late three-pointer from Miles Bridges to tie the game after Nikola Vucevic missed a pair of free throws on the last possession. Surrendering the lead did not demoralize Chicago though, and they were able to win the overtime period 17-10 and win the game 115-108.
The game turned out to be a war of attrition for both teams. Zach LaVine and Ayo Dosunmu were inactive for Chicago, and LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller missed for Charlotte. Both coaches had to go deep into their bench and with a pair of struggling teams, some jolting to the rotation could be productive in the long run. On Monday, the contest went back and forth with neither team getting out to a lead larger than 11 points.
Chicago had the lead late but a combination of poor late-game management by the Chicago Bulls and opportunistic execution by the Hornets drew the teams even after 48 minutes of play. Charlotte was unable to ride the momentum from the end of regulation and the Bulls cruised in overtime to get the road victory.
Chicago Bulls Need Overtime
The Chicago Bulls and Charlotte Hornets were playing left-handed in their Monday night bout in Charlotte. The Bulls were missing two of their starting guards, Zach LaVine and Ayo Dosunmu, and the Hornets were without LaMelo Ball and Brandon Miller. These teams had to go deep into their bench and exhaust their depth with an extra five minutes of play in an overtime period. A few players rose above the rest and helped carry their squads in the stars’ absences, making it a tough contest throughout.
After late heroics from Miles Bridges to tie the game in the final seconds, the game was sent to overtime with a 98-98 score. At 98-95 CHI, Bridges had missed a three-pointer from the corner and Nikola Vucevic was fouled with under ten seconds remaining and a chance to put the game out of reach. The career 77% FT shooter bricked both of his opportunities at the line and the Hornets had another chance. Despite the miss on the previous trip down the floor, Charlotte looked to Miles Bridges again.
The Michigan State product had led the Charlotte Hornets all night long and earned the chance to try and extend the game. After battling on the in-bound and struggling to shake Patrick Williams, Bridges rose up and under Williams’ arm to take and make the game-tying three and complete a miniature six-point comeback in the final 2:15. The game was deadlocked at 98-98 and Vucevic’s last-second heave wasn’t close, and five more minutes were put on the clock.
Charlotte wasn’t able to capitalize on the momentum from the final stretch of regulation and the Chicago Bulls dominated overtime from the jump. Coby White struck first and Chicago didn’t look back. With his backcourt mates out of action, White stepped up in this one, coming just one assist shy of a triple-double and leading the team in scoring with 23.
Without a log jam at wing in front of him, Torrey Craig took advantage of his minutes and chipped in 18 off the bench, including 5-of-7 on three-pointers. Bridges didn’t receive the help he needed in the overtime and the Charlotte rally fizzled out. Chicago hit three shots from distance and put the game out of reach. The final score read 115-108, with the Bulls getting to 15-18 and the Hornets falling to 7-25.
Final Thoughts
Playing without Ball and Miller, the Hornets should’ve been a doormat for the Chicago Bulls even without two of their backcourt starters. The team has been using LaVine as a crutch more and more this season, which is good to a point. LaVine can continue to raise his trade value and net the Bulls more in an eventual trade, but this team tonight seemed disjointed and that’s going to be a huge problem in the future once LaVine is gone for good.
With Lonzo Ball and Josh Giddey on the floor, they shouldn’t have looked this poor and disjointed on offense, only scoring 36 points in the paint. It’s good that they were able to scramble in overtime to get the win, but this game should never have gotten to the extra period.
