Chicago Bulls are finding a winner rhythm in a significant final stretch of the regular season.
Bulls won their third consecutive game on Sunday, defeating Charlotte Hornets 131–117 on the road. This was not a major test for bulls-Hournets were one of the lightest opponents for bulls this season, the second-to-final rankings at the Eastern Conference with a record of 19–58. Hornets shot a lot of 26.7% from the 3-point range against Bulls, a lot of rely on Center Mark Williams.
But with only four matches in the regular session, this victory was still important for Bulls. After winning its 20th road game of the season, Bulls are on track to host their first play-in tournament game-and even with the rest of their Eastern Conference demonstrations, jockey can also join with contestants for high beading in Postsen.
Here are three takeaairs from the game.
1. Kobi White and Patrick Williams showed for the crowd of hometown.
Sports in Northern Carolina always mean a little more for Kobi White and Patrick Williams, which gives a chance to play in front of a crowds of hometowns. Williams grew up in Charlotte, while in White Goldsboro grew up at a distance of three hours – and the two players brought it into a large crowd of friends and family for Sunday’s game.
White continued a cruel streak of scoring in Charlotte, scoring 37 points from behind 6 -for -8 from behind 37 points. He has scored 30 or more points in seven matches since the all-star break.
While Williams lost his early role for the first Matas Buzelis in the season, he continued to promote the bench. He scored 15 points on 6 -for -8 shooting, playing the role of the sixth man for Bulls.
2. Bulls are motion.
Chicago Bulls Forward Julian Philips carried forward Charlotte, NC (AP Photo/Jacob Kupperman) on Sunday, April 6, 2025 over Charlot Hornets to Charlot Hornets Forward Josh Okogi
No team in the league is still playing faster than bulls. In the last 10 matches before the Sunday win at Charlotte, Bulls logged in the highest speed score (104.75 per game). This leads every other team in the league, which includes Uptampo teams like Toronto and Memphis.
And the bulls were not slowing down against the hornets, where they were very much dependent on rapid brake and open-court scoring. He excluded the hornets from 26–5 in fast break points as every player-from Matus Buzelis to Talen Horton-Torca-Full-Cort pass and rapid brake via rapid brake through the Coast-to-Coast Drive.
3. Lonzo ball is still unavailable.
Only four games left in the regular season, Lonzo Ball is still not approved to play with a sprain left wrist, which has sidelined them since 28 February.
Bulls hoped that the ball would be available for Friday’s game against Portland Trail Blazers, but was eventually excluded from both games later this week. Coach Billy Donovan earlier said that Bulls would not turn off the ball at regular season or any point of Postsen. The guard will continue to try to reduce discomfort and inflammation to reach a point where he can play through injury.
Despite recovering from an unprecedented knee surgery, the ball has played only 35 games this season due to the sprain of this wrist. If he is capable of returning, he will be an important piece for bulls in Postsen as he attempts to create his first berth from the play-in tournament in the first round of the playoffs.
Playoff push
With his victory at Charlotte, Bulls took a full game lead on the Miami heat to hold the ninth seed at the Eastern Conference. The heat dropped the Milwuki box on Friday 121–115, as they were drowned in two-game losing skids. Going to the eighth allows the bulls to proceed potentially with only one play-in tournament win-and in the first round of the playoffs, the opportunity to play other seeds instead of top ranked Cleveland Cavelliers.
Atlanta Hawks was later slated to play Utah Jazz on Sunday evening, a game that could also bring them to the eighth seed in the race for the eighth seed. The bulls will need to cross the hox completely-who has the head-to-head tiebreaker benefits-to jump to the eighth in the eighth.
Originally published: April 6, 2025 at 3:43 pm CDT