LaMelo Ball scored 26 points, Miles Bridges had 21 and the Charlotte Hornets held on for a wild 125-123 win over the Chicago Bulls on Friday night at the United Center.
Mark Williams scored 19 points and grabbed 19 rebounds for the Hornets, who rallied to win a second straight game for just the second time this season. Charlotte has won three of four after a 10-game skid.
The Hornets won without Brandon Miller, their No. 2 scorer, and the team announced after the game he has a torn ligament in his right wrist. Miller, who’s averaging a career-high 21 points, will be out indefinitely.
Nikola Vučević scored a season-high 40 points — including 17 in the fourth quarter — and had 12 rebounds, but the Bulls dropped a season-high fourth straight.
Zach Lavine scored 19 points and Coby White added 18 for the Bulls. Lonzo Ball, playing against his younger brother, had six points, three rebounds and three assists.
Charlotte opened the fourth quarter with a 21-2 run to build a 119-105 lead. The Bulls then pushed back with a 12-0 streak of their own. They cut their deficit to one point — 122-121 — on Vučević’s hook with 1:47 left, but LaMelo Ball hit two free throws seconds later. Vučević followed with a basket from the stripe to cut it to a one-point deficit again before Vasa Micić hit one of two free throws with 12.6 seconds left.
Vučević missed a 3-point attempt with six seconds left, then LaVine missed a shot off the rebound.
Takeaways
Hornets: Charlotte will need to continue to get contributions throughout the roster to help make up for the loss of Miller.
Bulls: They showed some life following a 110-94 home loss to the depleted Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.
Key moment
The Hornets seemingly put it away with a 21-2 run to start the fourth quarter and took a 115-105 lead. The Bulls didn’t score in the quarter until Vučević sank a hook 4:26 into the quarter. The Bulls were down by as many as 12 in the first half before storming back to lead 103-98 after three quarters.
Key stat
Lonzo Ball, 27, played against younger brother LaMelo, 23, for the fourth time in the NBA.
Up next
Hornets: Play host to Dallas on Monday.
Bulls: Open a three-game trip at Portland on Sunday.