Mirotic shoots Bulls past Hornets
CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- Nikola Mirotic came off the bench for 24 points and 11 rebounds, and the Chicago Bulls snapped a five-game losing streak with a 115-109 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Monday night at the Spectrum Center.
Mirotic hit five 3-pointers on a night when the Bulls went 14 of 40 from 3-point range.
The Bulls (32-35) also got outstanding performances from several others.
Dwyane Wade scored 23, Jimmy Butler had 23 points, 11 assists and six rebounds, Rajon Rondo had 20 points, seven rebounds and six assists in his first start since late December, and rookie Denzel Valentine scored 11.
Butler hit three free throws in the final 19.8 seconds and the Hornets never got closer than three in the final minute.
The Hornets (29-38) were led by Jeremy Lamb with 26 points, as Lamb started in place of Nicolas Batum, who was out with a migraine.
Michael Kidd-Gilchrist scored 22, Kemba Walker had 21 points and 10 assists, Marvin Williams had 13 points and 18 rebounds, and Cody Zeller scored 11.
The Bulls led 36-24 after one quarter and 58-48 at halftime. They led by as many as 16 in the half, hitting 11 of 23 from 3-point range. They hit 10 of their first 15 3-pointers before they cooled off.
The Hornets fought back to tie the game in the third quarter, but the Bulls regrouped and pulled back out to an 87-77 lead after three quarters.
NOTES: The Hornets got F Frank Kaminsky (AC joint) back after he had missed the previous five games. Kaminsky scored four points in 23:54. But they were without G Nicolas Batum (migraine), C Miles Plumlee (calf), F Johnny O'Bryant (ankle) and G Ramon Sessions (knee). ... Bulls G Dwyane Wade left the game with a leg cramp in the third quarter, but he returned. ... Hornets coach Steve Clifford was so upset with the Hornets' defense early that he called a timeout just 1:29 into the game. Chicago led 5-3 at the time. ... This was the third and final game between the teams this season. They had split the first two, so the Bulls will have the tie-breaker if it comes into play. ... The Bulls were coming off a 100-80 loss at Boston on Sunday. They are now 7-7 on the second night of a back-to-back. ... The Bulls will return home to face Memphis on Wednesday. ... The Hornets were closing out a three-game home stand. They will play at Indiana on Wednesday.