Gafford finds his form as summer Chicago Bulls rally past Hornets
The Bulls used a fourth-quarter rally to earn their second summer-league win, knocking off Charlotte 75-72 on Wednesday in Las Vegas.
Justin Simon delivered the go-ahead basket with 27.7 seconds left when he followed in a Chandler Hutchison miss. Second-round pick Daniel Gafford added a pair of free throws to finish it off. The Bulls outscored the Hornets 25-13 in the fourth quarter.
The best news from this game was the return, so to speak, of Gafford, a 6-foot-11 center from Arkansas. He had an eye-opening performance on opening night against the Lakers, then didn't do much in the next two games. Against Charlotte, Gafford finished with 20 points, 10 rebounds and he added a nice block on Charlotte's Dwayne Bacon late in the fourth.
Hutchison finished with 18 points and 9 rebounds, while hitting 5 of 17 shots from the field. First-round pick Coby White contributed 11 points, 7 rebounds, 5 assists and just 1 turnover. But he also had a rough shooting day, going 4-for-17 from the field.
The summer Bulls haven't excelled in long-range shooting and hit just 4 of 24 attempts from 3-point range against the Hornets. Two-way player Adam Mokoka hit a pair of 3s, but those were his only points. Simon, a 6-5 rookie from St. John's, had 9 points and 7 rebounds.
The NBA changed the summer-league playoff format. The top eight teams will advance to a championship bracket, while the Bulls (2-2) are likely headed for a consolation game.