NBA Game Summary - Charlotte at Chicago

Chicago, IL (Basketball News) - Othella Harrington netted 22 points and Eric Piatkowski poured in 19 off the bench as Chicago extended its season-best win streak to nine games with a 112-97 victory over Charlotte at the United Center.

Chris Duhon scored a career-high 17 points and Tyson Chandler had 12 along with 15 rebounds for the Bulls, who moved within a half game of fourth-place Washington in the Eastern Conference playoff race despite being without two key players.

Leading scorer Eddy Curry missed his third straight game as he continues to undergo tests for an irregular heartbeat, while rookie swingman Luol Deng sat out with a sprained right wrist. In addition, starting guard Kirk Hinrich was limited to 25 minutes due to a sore hamstring.

Piatkowski, who was averaging just 4.5 points coming in, helped offset the losses by making 6-of-7 shots, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. As a team Chicago shot a sizzling 61 percent (11-of-18) from beyond the arc.

Emeka Okafor posted game-highs of 28 points and 16 rebounds for the Bobcats, who have dropped four in a row. Matt Carroll scored a personal-best 20 in the loss.

Chicago trailed 68-67 with under five minutes left in the third quarter before taking control with a 14-3 run late in the frame. Consecutive three-pointers by Piatkowski and Jannero Pargo gave the Bulls a 78-71 lead, and Andres Nocioni capped the run with a conventional three-point play with 1:15 left in the period for a 10-point cushion.

The Bobcats responded with five straight points to cut the deficit in half, but a triple by Duhon to end the third quarter put the Bulls up 84-76.

Chicago put the game away with a 13-2 burst early in the fourth. Harrington recorded the first four points of the run, which ended when Hinrich sank a trey with 6:28 to go for a 97-80 lead.

The Bulls started out on fire, as Chicago made its first seven shots from the field and opened the game with a 16-5 run. Back-to-back three-pointers by Hinrich gave the hosts a commanding 22-7 advantage just past the midpoint of the first quarter.

Charlotte then reeled off 11 consecutive points and closed out the period on a 17-2 spurt. Okafor, who racked up 16 points during the opening stanza, hit a short jumper at the buzzer to tie the contest at 24-24.

The game remained tight through the second quarter and was knotted at 50-50 heading into the final minute of the half. After Chandler’s tip-in put the Bulls ahead, Duhon buried a three-pointer and then scored off a Bobcat turnover with 11 seconds left for a seven-point lead.

Jason Hart’s jumper in the closing seconds brought Charlotte within 57-52 at the break.

The Bobcats played the entire second half without one of its top scorers, Gerald Wallace, who was ejected after arguing a technical foul call by referee Joe Crawford with 6:04 remaining before intermission.