Chicago will play the second contest of a seven-game road swing when the Bulls take on the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets tonight (7:00 p.m. CT | CSN-Chicago/ESPN Radio 1000). Chicago (20-24) opened the season-long road trip with Tuesday's 98-94 loss to the Dallas Mavericks, which snapped a four-game winning streak. Kirk Hinrich scored 28 points and Ben Gordon and Andres Nocioni added 14 each for the Bulls, who trailed by 24 points at halftime but closed the gap to four in the fourth quarter. The Hornets (22-22) are hoping to have their newest acquisition in the lineup tonight. Aaron Williams was acquired from Toronto for two second-round draft picks on Tuesday. The deal reunites Williams with head coach Byron Scott. They spent three seasons together with New Jersey, including two trips to the NBA Finals. It also filled a void created when Chris Andersen was "dismissed and disqualified" from the league for violating the terms of the anti-drug program. David West scored 24 points and Speedy Claxton added 19 for the Hornets, who returned to the .500 mark with their second straight win, a 94-93 triumph over the Milwaukee Bucks on Monday. The Bulls and Hornets split their two meetings last season and will face each other again March 24. Tune in to watch this evening's game on Comcast SportsNet Chicago and listen to it on ESPN Radio 1000 (both pregame shows at 6:30). Visit Bulls.com or click here now for a complete preview of this evening's contest. Probable Bulls Starters Guard 12 Kirk Hinrich 6-3 | 190 Guard 7 Ben Gordon 6-3 | 200 Forward 9 Luol Deng 6-9 | 220 Forward 3 Tyson Chandler 7-1 | 235 Center 24 Othella Harrington 6-9 | 235 Probable Hornets Starters Guard 3 Chris Paul 6-0 | 175 Guard 1 Kirk Snyder 6-6 | 225 Forward 24 Desmond Mason 6-5 | 222 Forward 30 David West 6-9 | 240 Center 42 PJ Brown 6-11 | 239 Injury Report Bulls Eric Piatkowski (left foot inflammation) is questionable. For a full report and the latest on Bulls' injuries, check out the AthletiCo Injury Report at Bulls.com. Hornets New Orleans/Oklahoma City has no injuries to report. Series Notes Despite losing 19 of the last 24 to the Hornets, the Bulls continue to lead the all-time series, 40-31 ... the Bulls have been held below 100 points in 24 of the last 26 meetings ... the Bulls have split the season series with New Orleans each of the last three years ... Chicago has not swept the season series since blanking the Hornets 4-0 during the 1996.97 season.
I notice Malik Allen is getting a lot more playing time and playing pretty decent in those minutes. For most of the season I questioned why we signed him when he rarely played.
Chandler looking to having another good game with the boards, already has 6 in one quarter. Bulls up 27 - 26.
wow a Mike Sweetney sighting. Very rare lately. lol. Bulls have pulled back from a pair of Ben Gordon 3 pointers in the minute he came back onto the court. Down by 3.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">[IMGL]http://www.nba.com/media/hornets/ChrisPau300.jpg[/IMGL] Rookie Chris Paul continues to move the New Orleans Hornets in the right direction. Paul collected 25 points and 13 assists and Kirk Snyder scored 15 points as the Hornets won their third straight game with a 100-95 victory over the Chicago Bulls. A 6-foot point guard, Paul has the Hornets (22-22) playing well beyond expectations this season as they suddenly sit in the eighth and final playoff spot after winning only 18 games last season. On Wednesday, Paul connected on 8-of-11 shots from the floor and 9-of-11 free throws. He also contributed three steals while committing just one turnover. "The little fella is pretty damn good," Hornets coach Byron Scott said. "He just continues to get better and better and at times you just sit back and watch him take over games." David West nailed a jumper with 6:31 remaining in the fourth quarter, giving the Hornets an 84-75 advantage. But Chicago fought back, cutting its deficit to 86-83 as Ben Gordon connected on a jumper with just over four minutes left and taking a 90-89 lead with 2:42 to go on a layup by Darius Songaila. West made a pair of free throws to regain the lead for the Hornets before Paul took the game into his own hands, scoring six straight points to help build a 97-90 edge with 28 seconds to go. "It was sort of just the way things fell into place," said Paul, who grabbed four rebounds. "The ball would be in my hands with the shot clock running down, so it was either take the shot or the turnover." "Paul pretty much has his way with us the whole night," Chicago coach Scott Skiles said. "There are certain rookies who come into this league and are ready to play and he is definitely one of them." West split a pair of free throws before Gordon's jumper pulled Chicago within 98-93 with 10 seconds left. But P.J. Brown sealed the win by making two free throws in the waning moments. "Some nights its your night, some nights its someone else," said Snyder, who shot 6-of-13. "I'm out there to play defense and if the ball rotates to me, I'm going to try and knock down those shots. Tonight it was my night." Rasual Butler scored 14 points off the bench and West added 13 for the Hornets, who shot 43 percent (36-of-82) overall. "I think we've started to realize that when we see a team making a push, we want to show some resiliency," said Butler, who added two steals. "And let them know that we're not going to give up." Kirk Hinrich scored 20 points and Songaila added 18 for the Bulls, who shot 45 percent (33-of-73) and committed 17 turnovers.</div> <div align="center"><font size=""1"">Recap l Box Score</font></div> Just like in the game against Dallas it was to little to late.
