The Charlotte Hornets (11 - 8) won on the road Saturday, defeating the Chicago Bulls (11 - 6) by a score of 102 - 96. The Bulls' loss came just one night after they rose to the top of the Eastern Conference. The East remains tightly bunched, with the first and tenth seeds separated by less than three games. Despite the continued absence of big man Al Jefferson (calf), the Hornets had no problem competing with Chicago's loaded frontcourt, as forward Cody Zeller (17 points, eight rebounds) and reserve center Spencer Hawes (14 points, seven rebounds, four assists) both had big nights. The real star of the show, however, was small forward Nicolas Batum, who led the team in both points and rebounds, posting 24 and 11 respectively. Batum has settled nicely into a prominent role in his first year in Charlotte, averaging 17 points and 6 rebounds per game on the season, The Bulls, meanwhile, saw a disappointing loss in what has been an otherwise strong season thus far. Despite impressive efforts from the backcourt of Derrick Rose (19 points, seven rebounds, five assists) and Jimmy Butler (25 points, eight rebounds, two steals), the Bulls simply could n't get it done. A large part of the team's woes came at the free - throw line, where they shot just 68 percent on the night. Second-year forward Nikola Mirotic also struggled, shooting just 3 - for - 11 and recording only seven points. The Bulls will look for a bounceback performance as they prepare to take on the Suns on Monday. With the Eastern Conference seemingly up for grabs, Chicgo will be jocking for position with the conference's other heavy hitters. Charlotte, meanwhile, will look to carry the momentum from beating the top seed into their next game, a visit from Andre Drummond and the Pistons on Monday.
["TeamStat(G,'Bulls') has 6 Losses ,has 96 Total points ,has 25 Points in 3rd quarter ,has 11 Wins ."
 "TeamStat(G,'Hornets') has 8 Losses ,has 102 Total points ,has 11 Points in 3rd quarter ."]