The Bulls (25-34) notched a resounding 108-91 win over the Charlotte Hornets (28-30) Thursday at the United Center.
Here are 12 observations:
1. After talk of lacking of energy, focus and urgency out of the gates in Wednesday's loss to the Cavaliers, the Bulls started fast in this one. In the game's first two-and-a-half minutes, they jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and though the Hornets immediately punched back to pull within 14-13, the Bulls ended the first quarter ahead 34-23. They played with pace and purpose.
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2. That sustained throughout. At halftime, the Bulls led 58-44, with their work on the glass (13 second-chance points) and in transition (nine fastbreak points) emblematic of high activity level. They also turned eight Hornets turnovers into 10 points, holding the visitors to 40.5 percent shooting.
By night's end, they won the second-chance (18-5) and fastbreak points (17-8) battles by fair margins.
3. Nikola Vučević got right back on the horse after a rare off night in Cleveland. He had his eighth double-double as a Bull (which, in just 16 appearances, already leads the team for the season) before the half, then piled five points and three assists in a third quarter in which the Bulls stretched their lead as high as 25. He finished with a gaudy stat line of 18 points, 16 rebounds and six assists in just 29 minutes, resting the entire fourth quarter.
4. Coby White cleared 18 points and three made 3s (with 18 and four, respectively) for the third time in five games without Zach LaVine. With three assists and -- crucially -- zero turnovers, he's now averaging 6.4 assists and 1.4 turnovers (seven total) since sliding into the starting lineup. It's been a really solid stretch for White, who looked a bit lost oscillating between roles post-All-Star break.
5. The Bulls got 47 needed points from their reserves, led by 18 (8-for-10 shooting) from Thad Young and 11 from Lauri Markkanen. Both have seen their minutes and production fluctuate in Billy Donovan's quest for resonant lineup combinations, but were X factors in this one. Tomáš Satoranský added 10 points, seven assists and a poster jam.
6. After a 1-for-1 outing, Young is 4-for-7 from 3-point range in his last five games. Before that span, which began on April 16, he hadn't made a 3 since March 16. Before that: Feb. 1. He's 10-for-35 from distance on the season.
7. In addition to his stout defense, Garrett Temple's 3-for-6 mark from 3-point range makes him 9-for-22 (40.9 percent) since returning from an extended injury absence six games ago.
8. Ryan Arcidiacono (19 minutes, inflated by garbage-time) has been Donovan's perimeter option of choice with Troy Brown Jr. missing the team's last two games with an ankle sprain. Donovan said Brown's status Saturday against the Heat is yet uncertain; he'll continue rehabbing and waiting for the swelling in the ankle to subside in the meantime.
9. Yes, Miles Bridges caught a body:
(Even handing out six assists, this might have been Vučević's best decision of the game.)
10. But Devonte' Graham (16 points) was just about the Hornets' only consistent spark in a game they played without LaMelo Ball, Gordon Hayward and Malik Monk. At one point in the third quarter, the Hornets went 5 minutes, 30 seconds without scoring. They finished with just 91 points -- the seventh 2020-21 Bulls opponent to score under 100 -- and shot a putrid 17-for-31 at the rim.
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11. In that sense, it was a take-care-of-business victory for the Bulls to erase the sour taste of the Cavaliers loss. Much-needed, if unglamorous.
12. But it was a fine two-way effort all the same. The Bulls' starting lineup combine for just two fouls on the evening -- and both of them (from Daniel Theis and Patrick Williams) came in garbage time.
Standings update: None of the teams the Bulls are vying with for play-in positioning played tonight. With the win, they move level with the Raptors (over whom they owe the tiebreaker) for 11th in the East, and a half-game behind the Wizards for 10th.
Next up: At the Miami Heat on Saturday.