Hornets zip right by Bulls
The Bulls came home from a six-game road trip clinging to an optimistic feeling that they still could manufacture a strong finish to a disappointing season.
The theory was if they were competitive in Western Conference road games while missing three of their top four scorers, then they might be ready to roll once some reinforcements arrived.
Guard Kirk Hinrich returned Tuesday night after missing three games with bruised ribs, and the Bulls had plenty of life for the first 2½ quarters.
But even after trailing most of the game, for the New Orleans Hornets this seemed like a routine 100-86 victory by the time it was over.
The Bulls led 55-47 with 8:27 remaining in the third quarter, then were outscored 53-31 the rest of the way. Hornets guard Chris Paul (25 points, 14 assists) ran the show brilliantly, while bruising power forward David West and long-range specialist Peja Stojakovic added 27 points each.
"They were a better team for four quarters," Bulls coach Jim Boylan said. "Maybe we were better for two, that was about it. I just thought we ran out of gas there in the second half, got a little tired. Guys seemed to be laboring a little bit."
A playoff spot has been sitting within easy reach for weeks, but is now starting to slip away. The Bulls (20-31) plummeted to a season-low 11 games below .500 and are 2½ games behind eighth place New Jersey in the Eastern Conference standings.
The Bulls play one more game before the all-star break on Thursday against Miami, which has the NBA's worst record. When the break is over, though, the Bulls have another tough stretch with road games at New Jersey, Houston, Dallas and Indiana surrounding one home date against Denver.
The Bulls were as close as 83-82 with 5:22 remaining before the Hornets (35-15) finally pulled away. The first heavy punch was a long 3-pointer by Paul as the shot clock expired.
After the teams traded baskets, Tyson Chandler's offensive rebound set up a jumper by Rasual Butler to put New Orleans up by 6. Then Paul stripped Hinrich near midcourt and fed West for a fastbreak dunk to put the Hornets ahead 92-84 with 3:13 remaining.
The Bulls never recovered.
"I thought (Paul's) performance was one of the better ones I've seen this year as far as controlling the team and controlling the game, basically," Boylan said. "Nothing fancy. Tyson comes up to set the screen, gets him loose, and he makes the play."
As promised, Boylan kept Hinrich out of the starting lineup after saying a few days earlier that the injured Bulls would have to earn their spots.
Hinrich went right to work on that task, scoring 10 points during the final 6½ minutes of the first quarter. He faded from there, though, to finish with 15 points and 4 assists.
"The Bulls play hard," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "We knew that they would come out and give a great effort. We talked about how we would have to match their intensity or be in for a long night."
Ben Gordon (sprained right wrist) and Luol Deng (left Achilles' tendinitis) remained sidelined and probably won't be back until next week after the all-star break.