Charlotte Hornets blew out the Chicago Bulls 131–99 at United Center, riding a third‑quarter avalanche and hot three‑point shooting to secure their eighth straight road win. For Sportsphere24, this was a statement that Charlotte’s young core is learning how to step on the gas and not look back.
Miller and Knueppel headline Hornets’ barrage
Brandon Miller led the way with 23 points, attacking off the dribble and knocking down threes as Chicago’s defense struggled to track him around the perimeter. His combination of size and shooting created constant matchup problems, forcing the Bulls into late closeouts and defensive breakdowns. Kon Knueppel joined the party with another strong scoring night, helping power a wing‑driven attack that kept the floor spaced and the tempo high.
LaMelo Ball and Miles Bridges each added 16 points, giving Charlotte a balanced scoring front that the Bulls never really solved. Ball orchestrated the offense, pushed the pace, and fed shooters in rhythm, while Bridges provided physical drives and transition finishes in his return from suspension. Overall, the Hornets shot 51.6% from the field and drilled 25 of 57 threes—just one shy of the franchise record for made triples, a stat that perfectly captures how overwhelming their offense was.
Third‑quarter explosion buries Chicago
The game’s decisive stretch came after halftime, when Charlotte absolutely blitzed Chicago 42–16 in the third quarter. That frame included a 22–2 knockout run in which the Hornets rained threes, forced turnovers, and turned every Bulls mistake into points going the other way. United Center went from hopeful to stunned as the deficit ballooned and Chicago’s confidence visibly sagged.
Defensively, Charlotte tightened the screws, contesting jumpers and walling off the paint while still recovering out to shooters. On the other end, the ball flew around the perimeter as the Hornets consistently generated open looks from deep and at the rim. Play‑by‑play logs on NBA.com highlight just how relentless this run was, with Chicago going minutes at a time without a field goal while Charlotte piled on.
Bulls’ skid hits double digits
For Chicago, this loss was another low point in a brutal stretch, marking their 10th straight defeat and matching their longest slide since January 2019. The Bulls showed some early fight but unraveled as Charlotte’s runs stacked up and the shots stopped falling. Defensive miscommunications, slow rotations to shooters, and offensive stagnation all fed into the lopsided second half.
Individually, a few Bulls pieces put up respectable numbers, but none of it translated into sustained resistance once the Hornets caught fire. The box scores on ESPN and NBA.com paint a clear picture: Chicago fell behind in efficiency, three‑point margin, and energy as the game wore on. For Sportsphere24 readers tracking the Bulls’ season, this performance underscores just how far they are from consistently competing with up‑tempo, modern offenses like Charlotte’s.
What this win means for Charlotte
The victory extended the Hornets’ road winning streak to eight, an impressive marker for a young team trying to establish an identity. Their mix of wing scoring, pace, and volume three‑point shooting is starting to look sustainable, especially when the ball moves and multiple players are threats. If Charlotte can pair this offensive ceiling with steady defensive effort, they become a much more interesting factor in the Eastern Conference picture.
For Sportsphere24, this game fits neatly into the narrative of a Hornets team finally turning potential into production while the Bulls search for answers in the middle of a freefall. Fans wanting deeper context can dive into advanced metrics and shot charts on RealGM and NBA.com, where the efficiency gap and three‑point numbers stand out even more than the 32‑point final margin.