3 Takeaways & Player Grades: Hornets 131, Bulls 99

The Chicago Bulls were able to keep it closer for a half before the Charlotte Hornets' high-powered offense flipped a switch. The 131-99 blowout hands the Bulls their tenth-straight loss, which marks their longest losing streak since January of 2019.

3 Takeaways

A Man on a Mission

With Coby White wearing another jersey, Matas Buzelis looked eager to show his former teammates that he could carry the scoring load. The forward came out as aggressively as we have seen him all season, repeatedly attacking the Hornets off the dribble. We watched him hit a nasty step back over Grant Williams, fly past Josh Green before adjusting mid-air for the lefty finish, and create some space for himself before a smooth underhand finish.

Buzelis also remained just as engaged off the ball. He soared through the air for a thunderous putback dunk and knocked down a catch-and-shoot triple from the corner. The 21-year-old did a little bit of everything in that first half, going into the break with 16 points on 7-12 shooting from the field. He would proceed to match that in the second half for a career-high.

As someone who been advocating for weeks to see Buzelis hoist up more shot attempts and play free, it was most promising to see his fierce first two quarters. His 12 shot attempts had matched or surpassed his total in the previous three games. Heading into the night, he was averaging just under that number over the previous 15 contests.

The Bulls have made clear that they want Buzelis to be a key part of their future. If that is the case, there is absolutely no reason not to hand him the car keys and step back for the final month and a half of the season.

The Tank Quarter

Thanks largely to Matas Buzelis' crafty play, the Chicago Bulls went into halftime down only 56-55. Chicago was also doing a decent job capitalizing on the Hornets' turnovers. While they had plenty of their own mistakes, Charlotte led the way in the first half with 12, resulting in an extra 9 points for the Bulls.

Any momentum the Bulls had walking into the locker room, however, stayed there. If the first frame was one of the new-look Bulls' better starts offensively, the third quarter was a dream for any person aboard the tank train. Charlotte's No. 1 offense since the start of 2026 started to look like just that. The team came into the night ranking 4th in both attempts and success rate from long range, and you could tell in the third quarter. They proceeded to go 8-15 from behind the arc, as their young trio of Kon Knueppel, LaMelo Ball, and Brandon Miller drained shot after shot.

Knueppel, in particular, started to show why he went fourth overall in the 2025 NBA Draft. He scored 8 points in roughly 47 seconds to put his squad up 79-65. He would finish the quarter with 12 points, 2 assists, and 2 steals to help create a 27-point cushion.

To say the Bulls looked lost on both ends would be an understatement. Not only was Charlotte getting anything they wanted, but their defense was locking the Bulls up at every turn. Chicago proceeded to turn the ball over TEN more times in the quarter, leading to 17 Hornets points. They also went nearly 6 minutes without a single made field goal at one point. The Bulls ultimately lost the frame 42-16. I know ... major yikes!

Fastbreak Points

The Chicago Bulls lost the fastbreak points battle 26-14 to a team that has averaged the fifth-fewest fastbreak points this season. Does that speak to their defensive woes? Of course, but I'm more focused on the Bulls' sheer lack of transition buckets.

Obviously, this has been the Bulls' bread and butter all season long. Billy Donovan has made it very clear that he prefers to play at a tempo that few teams can keep up with. This mid-season transition, however, has really messed with that style. The Bulls have failed to reach 20 fastbreak points in nine-straight games. They were previously reaching this mark in almost every other contest or two.

To be clear, I know this is to be expected with such a new roster, as a lack of chemistry can make it difficult to read those situations. But the contrast has been stark, even with Tre Jones and Josh Giddey back in the fold. If there was one thing I thought this Bulls team would still be able to do with these changes, it was play fast and put up points. That's proving a lot more difficult than expected.

Five Chicago Bulls Players

Matas Buzelis of the Chicago Bulls — Feb 22, 2026; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis (14) warms up before an NBA game against the New York Knicks at United Center. Mandatory Credit: Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images | Kamil Krzaczynski-Imagn Images

Matas Buzelis – A
Stats: 32 PTS, 7 REB,2 AST

What more is there to say? Matas Buzelis was the only consistent source of offense tonight, and he did it against a Hornets team that has some solid size at the wing. His 32 points on 13-19 shooting (6-11 from deep) marked a new career-high! If the losses are going to continue to stack up, let's at least keep seeing what Matas can do offensively!

Collin Sexton – B
Stats: 10 PTS, 2 STL, 2 REB

Collin Sexton came in and looked ready to have a revenge game of his own. He dropped 8 of his 10 points in his first 8 minutes of action, helping build an early lead for Chicago.

Patrick Williams – C
Stats: 11 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST

Patrick Williams has been considerably more active in recent games, though the playmaking we saw the other night failed to show up again in this one. He was a big part of the team's 21 turnovers, forking it over four times.

Rob Dillingham – C-
Stats: 6 PTS, 5 AST, 5 REB

Rob Dillingham tends to move too fast for his own shoes, but you have to at least respect the energy level. Also, you always love to see one of the smallest guys on the floor crashing the glass.

Josh Giddey – D+
Stats: 8 PTS, 2 REB, 5 AST, 2 STL

Josh Giddey clocked only 26 minutes tonight in an ugly 3-11 performance with five turnovers. Not what you want to see from one of your leaders.

Sign up for our free newsletter and follow us on X for the latest news.