The Chicago Bulls defeated the Charlotte Hornets in an overtime game on Monday night, sweeping the two-game, home-and-home series.

Terry Rozier played well for the Hornets, but the Bulls' defense was active, with seven steals and seven blocks. Although their defense is ranked 15th in the league, they are known for being disruptive and are second in the NBA in deflections this season.

Zach LaVine, who was a game-time decision due to shoulder soreness and right foot inflammation, struggled offensively with 9 points on 2 of 8 shooting. However, his defense impressed Billy Donovan, who said that if LaVine can continue to work hard and give the team the same effort on defense, he will find his rhythm offensively.

Andre Drummond, who has been starting for the injured Nikola Vucevic since December 26, had another strong game with double-digit rebounds for the seventh straight game. Drummond is averaging 17.4 rebounds per game in this seven-game stretch.

Eli has more on the Bulls’ overtime victory over the Hornets in last night’s Enhanced Box Score:

Best of BN

Here’s where the best stories of the previous day at Bleacher Nation will live for you to read in case you missed them yesterday. We’re busy, it happens!

Chicago Bears

• If this is the end for Justin Fields in Chicago, he made sure to say his goodbyes to the fans on Sunday.

• Bears offensive lineman Cody White provided some Bears optimism for 2024. But will he be here to see it through?

Chicago Blackhawks

• With recent rumors that the Blackhawks will be a part of the 2025 NHL Winter Classic, Tab examines where the game should be played if the Blackhawks do indeed host the event next season.

• With Connor Bedard joining the ridiculous list of Blackhawks players dealing with injuries this season, the time for Lukas Reichel is right now. Reichel has been bad this season, but he can carry the load for the next month-plus and turn his season around.

Chicago Bulls

• The NBA’s trade deadline is officially one month away! What will the Chicago Bulls do ahead of this year’s deadline?

Chicago Cubs

• It's been an eventful free-agency pursuit for Shota Imanaga. The posting period will expire in three days, meaning a deal must be finalized before the close of business on January 11th. We should expect to know soon where Imanaga is going as teams continue negotiating in this back-and-forth free agency process. Once we get a resolution on the Imanaga front, the rest of the pitching market can begin to move.

• Marcus Stroman has expressed to the Yankees that he’s interested in signing with them, but there’s no indication that the interest is mutual.

Busy Day Around the NFL

Today’s newsletter was a bit of a shorty because I was swamped with NFL stuff yesterday. Black Monday came and went, and the Bears didn’t make any staff decisions (yet), but there were plenty of big names on the move on Monday.

• The New York Giants will be looking for a new DC after Wink Martindale resigned on Monday.

• The Carolina Panthers will be looking for a new head coach this offseason, but Scott Fitterer won't lead the search after he was fired on Monday morning.

• The Atlanta Falcons announced that they've fired head coach Arthur Smith.

• The Washington Commanders have fired head coach Ron Rivera and hired a former NBA GM to help run the franchise.

• The Washington Commanders have already requested to interview a pair of Lions coordinators for their head coaching vacancy. They also requested to interview Bears AGM Ian Cunningham.

What’s on deck?

• The Blackhawks are back in action tonight (what’s left of them) at home against the Edmonton Oilers. Puck drop is set for 7:30 PM CT.

• I submitted my ballot for the PFWA 2023 on-field awards on Monday, and I have some Chicago Bears players included. The PFWA awards include the on-field awards (MVP, Rookie of the Year, etc.), All-Rookie, All-NFL, and All-Conference teams. I’ll share the Bears on my ballot and why in tomorrow’s newsletter.

Featured Photo: (Photo by David Jensen/Getty Images)