CHARLOTTE, N.C. _ Zach LaVine scored a career-high 49 points, including a game-winning 3-pointer off a steal of Devonte Graham, pushing the Chicago Bulls to a 116-115 victory over the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday night.
LaVine made 13 of 17 3-point attempts and 17 of 28 shots overall. LaVine is only the third player in NBA history to make 13 or more 3s in a game, joining the Golden State Warriors' Stephen Curry and Klay Thompson.
Bulls rookie Coby White (28 points), a former North Carolina star, was credited with the steal of Graham.
The Hornets, who squandered a five-point lead in the last eight seconds, were led by Terry Rozier's 28 points.
Marvin Williams made it clear last season it wasn't important to him whether he started or came off the bench, so it was no issue when coach James Borrego put him in the second unit this season. The senior-most Hornet _ 14 NBA seasons _ made his first seven shots Saturday and scored a season-high 21 points.
Williams got hot in the third quarter, when he had nine points on 4-of-4 shooting from the field and the Hornets retook the lead.
After the Hornets finally went a game without a double-digit deficit Friday against the Washington Wizards, they fell behind by 10 in the first half Saturday. So much of that was how turnovers put the Hornets in constant defensive predicaments early: They gave away the ball 13 times in the first half (to seven by the Bulls). That launched Chicago to eight fast-break points, far too many for the Hornets to allow.
