Hornets 89, Bulls 82: Greivis Vasquez had 18 points and Jason Smith came off the bench to score 12 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter as visiting New Orleans handed Chicago its first loss of the season.
Robin Lopez added 16 points on 7-for-10 shooting from the field for the Hornets, who played without Anthony Davis. The top overall pick did not make the trip to his hometown after sustaining a mild concussion following an inadvertent elbow from teammate Austin Rivers in Friday's 88-86 win over Utah.
Vasquez highlighted a pronounced run with a pair of 3-pointers to give New Orleans a 46-44 edge at halftime. The Hornets finished the 15-2 surge by establishing a 52-46 advantage in the third quarter.
Smith helped New Orleans sweep its back-to-back set with a strong fourth quarter. He highlighted the stanza with a dunk and an 18-footer at the top of the key before outworking several Bulls for a rebound and putback.
Luol Deng had a team-high 19 points as five Chicago players finished in double figures.
GAME NOTEBOOK: The (New Orleans) Times-Picayune reported that Davis could miss several games before returning to the lineup. ... Chicago missed its first 13 shots outside the paint. ... The Bulls claimed their first lead at 33-31 with 5:30 left in the second quarter after Marco Belinelli knocked down a 3-pointer.
New Orleans | Chicago | |
Greivis Vasquez 18 | Scoring | Luol Deng 19 |
Greivis Vasquez 6 | Assists | Luol Deng 4 |
Ryan Anderson 13 | Rebounds | Joakim Noah 11 |
Jason Smith 8 | Free Throws Made | Luol Deng 7 |
Austin Rivers 3 | Steals | Kirk Hinrich 5 |
Robin Lopez 4 | Blocks | Taj Gibson 3 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
New Orleans | 89 | 42.7 | 5-18 | 20-23 | 13 | 44 | 9 | 7 | 17 |
Chicago | 82 | 33.0 | 3-17 | 21-25 | 21 | 41 | 6 | 11 | 12 |