Competition : Basketball - NBA
Date : 14 November 2015
Kick-off 03:00 (GMT +2)
Venue : United Center (Chicago, IL)
The Charlotte Hornets have won four of five behind improved offensive play, especially from their bench.
They've also been taking care of the basketball well, which could be the difference against the more turnover-prone Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Friday night.
Charlotte posted the league's second-lowest field-goal percentage (42.0) and third-worst scoring average (94.2) in 2014-15. Those struggles resurfaced in the new season as the Hornets averaged 93.3 points on 39.1 percent shooting in the first three games.
Since then, however, they are averaging 106.2 points while shooting 47.7 percent.
They held on for a 95-93 home win against the New York Knicks on Wednesday as Kristaps Porzingis' buzzer-beating 3-pointer was ruled to be too late. Cody Zeller converted the go-ahead a layup on an inbounds play with 0.6 seconds left, finishing with 12 points and bouncing back after missing two free throws moments earlier.
The Hornets didn't shoot as well as they had been, shooting 41.7 percent, but committed an NBA season-low five turnovers compared to New York's 17.
"Again, the turnover game - if you're going to win, you can't turn the ball over," coach Steve Clifford said. "It was really probably the difference in the game."
Turnovers have been more of an issue for the Bulls, who are still adjusting to first-year coach Fred Hoiberg's offense and rank near the bottom of the league with an average differential of minus-1.6. Charlotte is plus-2.4.
Zeller, questionable for this contest with a strained left ankle, was one of three reserves to score at least 12 points along with Jeremy Lamb and Jeremy Lin, complementing starter Nicolas Batum's season-high 24 points on 10-of-18 shooting.
Those bench performances helped bail out Al Jefferson and Kemba Walker, who were a combined 4 of 21 from the floor. Six Hornets are averaging at least 10.4 points, and the club's bench is averaging 42.8 points.
Chicago (5-3) has split its last six games but beat up on hapless Philadelphia in a 111-88 victory Monday. The Bulls were 10 of 25 from 3-point range, with Nikola Mirotic and Doug McDermott hitting three apiece while scoring 20 and 18 respectively. That duo in particular helped Chicago compensate for Jimmy Butler's season-low seven points.
"We needed something like this," said McDermott, who is 19 of 33 from beyond the arc and has started three games in a row. "We've had a couple of good practices but it's good to play against someone else."
Joakim Noah had been listed as a starter but was a late scratch due to his sore left knee, which also gave him issues last season. Noah's 20.6 minutes per game are a career low, though Hoiberg said he got through all of Thursday's practice and would "hopefully" return for this game.
"There's nothing structurally wrong with it," Hoiberg said.
Chicago hopes to get Kirk Hinrich back from a toe injury that has limited him to only one game - he saw five minutes of action at Brooklyn on Oct. 28.
The Hornets have won four of the last six meetings, though Chicago has taken 12 of the last 16 at the United Center and is 3-1 there this season. Charlotte made 14 of 23 shots from beyond the arc in a 130-105 rout at home Nov. 3, with Jeremy Lamb scoring 20 to pace seven players in double figures.
Derrick Rose has played in only three of the teams' last 15 meetings, averaging just 10.3 points on 33.3 percent shooting. He's shooting 36.8 percent this season.
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