Chicago Bulls vs Charlotte Hornets Final Score & Over/Under Result — Dec 12, 2025

Kon Knueppel's 33 points and 9 assists carried Charlotte to within three, but it wasn't quite enough to overtake Chicago's balanced attack in a shootout that crushed the market total by 25.5 points. The Bulls' 129–126 victory set a combined score of 255, well above the pregame 229.5 line, as both teams traded buckets relentlessly across four quarters.

The first half moved briskly to 116 combined points, with Chicago's opening-quarter edge (33–29) and Charlotte's second-quarter momentum (32–22) keeping pace. The real inflection came after halftime: a 65-point third quarter preceded the game's explosive finale, when Q4 alone produced 74 combined points—the highest-scoring quarter of the night. Josh Giddey led Chicago's offense with 26 points, 7 rebounds, and 11 assists, while Miles Bridges matched Knueppel's intensity for the Hornets with 32 points and 7 assists. Coby White (20 points) and Zach Collins (16 points, 8 rebounds) anchored the Bulls' depth, and Brandon Miller (18 points) provided Charlotte secondary scoring.

Charlotte's recent form—111.0 points scored per game over the last 10—proved insufficient even with Knueppel and Bridges in peak form. Chicago's defensive vulnerabilities (123.4 allowed per game in recent games) were on full display. DAGGER leaned under on the pregame total and missed, as the fourth-quarter surge overwhelmed any defensive resistance. This reprised a season series pattern: the teams had met once before in 2025, combining for just 239 points—a stark gap from tonight's offensive carnival.