APRIL 3, 2018 | CS3 MEDIA NEWS
CHICAGO-The Bulls were able to pull off a 120-114 victory over the Hornets on Tuesday night. The Bulls kept the pressure on the Hornets as they forced 20 turnovers which were detrimental to the Celtics’ offense. Lauri Markkanen scored 24 points and Sean Kilpatrick added 21 off the bench. Markkanen didn’t play in the fourth quarter and totaled just 24 minutes for the game. The 7-foot rookie was 8 of 14 from the field, including 5 of 6 on 3-pointers. Justin Holiday had 19 points and Bobby Portis added 16 for Chicago, which has won three straight. The Bulls’ winning streak could drop them few spots in the June draft, but that’s of no concern inside the locker room. ”We’re going out there and try to win every game,” Markkanen said. ”I hope we can keep this thing going.”
Dwight Howard had 23 points and 12 rebounds, and Malik Monk scored 21 points for Charlotte, which has dropped four straight. ”Turnovers just crushed us, both in the third and fourth,” Hornets coach Steve Clifford said. ”I mean, we did some good things, but just really poor, poor turnovers that led directly to easy baskets. That was the difference.”
The Bulls had an 86-79 lead entering the fourth quarter before coach Fred Hoiberg decided to sit most of his regulars out. Then, Kilpatrick took over the the offense, scoring 19 points in the final 12 minutes to hold off Monk (16 in the fourth) and Charlotte. Kilpatrick sealed the deal with a 3-pointer with 56.5 seconds to go for a 118-114 lead. ‘It’s an amazing feeling,” Kilpatrick said. ”You want your guys to go out and compete at the highest level and we’re doing that across the board right now,” Coach Hoiberg said. ”We’ve got so many young guys and they’re still learning their way in this league. They want to compete.” Can the Bulls continue their streak as they face Boston on Friday? The Hornets will visit Orlando on Friday.
