CHICAGO — Coby White had 22 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and the Chicago Bulls welcomed back Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic with a 104-91 victory over Miles Bridges and the Charlotte Hornets on Friday night.
DeMar DeRozan added 17 points for Chicago, which had lost three of four. Andre Drummond grabbed 10 rebounds in his sixth consecutive game with double-digit boards.
LaVine scored 15 points while playing almost 30 minutes in his first game since Nov. 28. Vucevic had 11 points and seven rebounds in 25 minutes while also playing as a reserve.
LaVine was sidelined for 17 games because of inflammation in his right foot. Vucevic missed the past five games with a strained left adductor.
While LaVine and Vucevic returned, Alex Caruso was a late scratch for Chicago because of a sore neck.
Bridges scored 28 points for the Hornets, who closed out a 1-5 road trip. Terry Rozier had 15 points on 5-for-17 shooting, and Cody Martin finished with 13 points.
Chicago pulled away when it opened the fourth quarter with a 16-4 run. Ayo Dosunmu made a 3-pointer and followed that up with another basket, and DeRozan converted a three-point play to make it 90-73 with 7:41 left.
LaVine made his presence felt at the end of the first half. He went in for a breakaway dunk and followed with a 3-pointer to give the Bulls a 47-41 at the break.
White led the Bulls with 11 points and LaVine scored nine points in the first half in 15 minutes. Bridges led the Hornets with 17 on 7-of-11 shooting.
After scoring 34 points in Tuesday’s win at Sacramento, Rozier didn’t get on the board until he made two foul shots with 9:52 left in the third quarter. He scored 11 points in the period, including a four-point play that trimmed Chicago’s lead to 74-69 going into the fourth.
Hornets rookie Brandon Miller was back in the starting lineup after missing Tuesday’s game with a bruised left hip, but LaMelo Ball (right ankle sprain), Gordon Hayward (left calf strain), Mark Williams (bruised lower back) and Frank Ntilikina (left tibia fracture) remained out.
Miller finished with nine points.
UP NEXT
- The Hornets host the Bulls on Monday night.