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LaVine's 49 points, miracle finish lift Bulls over Hornets

The Bulls packed their hurt feelings and flew down to Charlotte after Friday's ugly home loss to Miami.

The game against the Hornets seemed like a lost cause, but Zach LaVine pulled out a miracle along with one of the team's best performances in recent years, resulting a 116-115 victory.

"That was the craziest game I've been a part of," LaVine told reporters after the game. "We stole that one."

LaVine scored 49 points and hit 13 of 17 shots from 3-point range. Only three players in NBA history have hit 13 3-pointers in a game. Klay Thompson hit 14 to set the record last year against the Bulls and Steph Curry made 13 in 2016, according to basketball-reference.com.

"Shooter's shoot, man. I got hot and kept putting them in the basket," LaVine said. "That's the way it goes. I didn't even know how many I had, I just knew I was going to keep shooting them."

The ending of the game was hard to believe. The Bulls trailed 115-110 with less than 10 seconds remaining. First, Tomas Satoransky hit a 3-pointer with 8 seconds left to make it a 2-point game.

Charlotte threw the ball in under the basket to Devonte Graham, who was waiting to get fouled while sandwiched by Ryan Arcidiacono and Coby White.

Arcidiacono managed to knock the ball loose, he got it to LaVine, who dribbled behind the 3-point line and drained the game-winner with 0.8 seconds left.

"Crazy finish, but I think when you keep playing, sometimes those things //happen," coach Jim Boylen said.

LaVine's 49 points was the fourth-highest scoring game by a Bulls player since the championship era ended. Jimmy Butler scored 53 and 52, while Jamal Crawford had a 50-point game.

White, back in his home state of North Carolina, scored 28 points, while Duke product Wendell Carter Jr. added 17 points and 11 rebounds.

The Bulls (6-11) had a good first quarter and led by as many as 14 points in the first half. But the Hornets finished the third quarter with a 16-3 run and kept the lead until the final second.

On Friday, while Miami got off to a 15-0 lead at the start, Boylen pulled LaVine off the court early and said after the game it was because of three "egregious" defensive mistakes.

The errors were easy to spot on video. He failed to contain Jimmy Butler, gave needless help and allowed Duncan Robinson to get an open 3-pointer, then botched a switch and allowed a wide-open look for Butler, which missed.

Inside the locker room after the game, LaVine said he felt singled out. He didn't appreciate taking all the blame for a team-wide terrible start.

Before Saturday's game, all was forgiven. Boylen said he got together with Lavine on Saturday afternoon and had a great meeting. LaVine told reporters before the game he's OK with being coached hard, but will defend himself if he feels disrespected.

"I've always said, Zach's a really good guy and a good person," Boylen said. "He wants to do well, he wants to help the team. My job is to try to push a guy to a place he can't take himself. That happens sometimes with tough conversations and a meeting, maybe some uncomfortable moments.

"That's what my job is, that's what our job is. The credit needs to go to him and his focus and his energy and his effort. I'm really happy for him, man."

Boylen was asked if LaVine responded well to their meeting.

"He was great, he's always great. He always good when we coach him and talk to him. He wants to play better. I want him to play better and he played better.

Twitter: @McGrawDHBulls

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