Coby White explodes to help Chicago Bulls win close game over the Charlotte Hornets

In a game without flashy players Zach Lavine and LaMelo Ball, Coby White stole the show with his magnificent performance. In this back-and-forth affair, the Chicago Bulls closed the door on the Charlotte Hornets and won 117-110 at the Spectrum Center.

The Chicago Bulls are in an interesting spot, as they have players that contenders would want. It remains to be seen what Chicago decides to do with the trade deadline looming, but with the way Coby White has been playing in his breakout season, they may already have their franchise piece for their future core.

Most Improved Player candidate Coby White had a phenomenal game, finishing with 35 points, 7 rebounds, and 9 assists on 55% shooting. Big man Nikola Vucevic played well too, as he ended the night with 22 points, 12 rebounds, 3 assists, and 2 blocks. 3rd year guard Ayo Dosunmu had an efficient night, scoring 16 points on 70% shooting.

The Hornets were without All-Star point guard LaMelo Ball for the 3rd straight game. This allowed Miles Bridges to lead the way, as he finished with an all-around stat line of 30 points, 15 rebounds, 5 assists, 1 steal, and 3 blocks with 6 three pointers made. Rookie Brandon Miller had another amazing performance, scoring 21 points in his 38 minutes of game action. PJ Washington provided much needed bench offense, as he stepped in and scored 26 points on 59% shooting.

For the Bulls, this win improves them to 23-26 on the season. Despite having valuable players to contenders such as Zach Lavine, DeMar Derozan, and Alex Caruso, the Bulls are still competing for a play-in spot, as they are currently 9th in the Eastern Conference. Their next matchup will be against the Sacramento Kings on Saturday night.

This loss drops the Hornets to 10-36 on the season, which is 13th in the Eastern Conference. After reaching the play-in tournament twice in the first 2 seasons of LaMelo Ball’s career, the Hornets have had back-to-back disappointing seasons. Their main goal will be to continue developing their young talent, and the next opportunity for that will be on Friday night when they face off against the Oklahoma City Thunder.