Bulls Pick Up Third Straight Win

The Chicago Bulls Tuesday continued to be the NBA's team for April with their third consecutive victory, 120-114 over the Charlotte Hornets.

The Bulls raised their record to 27-51. Charlotte fell to 34-45.

The Bulls were led by Lauri Markkanen with 24 points, but it was newcomer Sean Kilpatrick with 21 points, 19 in the fourth quarter, that carried the Bulls down the stretch in a frenzied close with the teams combining to score in nine consecutive possessions in one stretch and 11 of 12 overall as the Bulls continued to hold off a daring Hornets charge.

Justin Holiday added 19 points with four threes. Markkanen had five three pointers for the second consecutive game. Bobby Portis had 16 points, Jerian Grant 13 and David Nwaba 10 points with a team high nine rebounds. The Bulls were 15 of 34 on threes and had 51 points off the bench. Charlotte's Malik Monk had 16 fourth quarter points with five three in the quarter in the high scoring, entertaining close.

James Third on list of 20-Point Games

LeBron James passed Kobe Bryant for third on the all-time list of most 20-point games in NBA history. LeBron had his 942nd 20-point game against Toronto last night. However, LeBron has a ways to go to reach the top as Kareem Abdul-Jabbar and Karl Malone each had over 1,100 20-point games.

Simmons Hits Record

Philadelphia 76ers point guard Ben Simmons became just the second player in NBA history last night to record at least 1,200 points, 600 assists and 600 rebounds in his rookie season. The only other player to do it was Hall of Famer Oscar Robertson.

Noel, Sefolosha Suspended

Dallas Mavericks’ center Nerlens Noel and Utah Jazz forward Thabo Sefolosha have each been suspended five games without pay for violating the NBA’s anti-drug program. According to league rules, a player is suspended five games after his third positive test for marijuana.

Tuesday, April 3 Scoreboard

Chicago 120, Charlotte 114

Cleveland 112, Toronto 106

Miami 101, Atlanta 98

Philadelphia 121, Brooklyn 95

Orlando 97, New York 73

Houston 120, Washington 104

Golden State 111, Oklahoma City 107

Milwaukee 106, Boston 102

Dallas 115, Portland 109

Denver 107, Indiana 104

Phoenix 97, Sacramento 94

Utah 117, Los Angeles Lakers 110

Los Angeles Clippers 113,  San Antonio 110

Wednesday, April 4 Schedule (All Times Central)

Dallas at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Philadelphia at Detroit, 6 p.m.

Miami at Atlanta, 6:30 p.m.

Memphis at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

Boston at Toronto, 7 p.m.

Memphis at New Orleans, 7 p.m.

San  Antonio at Los Angeles Lakers, 9:30 p.m.

Thursday, April 5 Schedule (All Times Central)

Golden State at Indiana, 6 p.m.

Washington at Cleveland, 7 p.m.

Brooklyn at Milwaukee, 7 p.m.

Portland at Houston, 7 p.m.

Los Angeles Clippers at Utah, 8 p.m.

Minnesota at Denver, 9:30 p.m.

Friday, April 6 Schedule (All Times Central)

Atlanta at Washington, 6 p.m.

Cleveland at Philadelphia, 6 p.m.

Dallas at Detroit, 6 p.m.

Charlotte at Orlando, 6 p.m.

Chicago at Boston, 6:30 p.m.

Miami at New York, 6:30 p.m.

Indiana at Toronto, 6:30 p.m.

Sacramento at Memphis, 7 p.m.

New Orleans at Phoenix, 9 p.m.

Minnesota at Los Angeles Lakers, 9:30 p.m.