Hornets coach Paul Silas wasn't necessarily expecting instant results, but he got them last weekend from Matt Bullard.

Late last week, he knew he needed to get Bullard more involved in an offense that has been, at best, erratic.

"We've got to look for him more because he's going to play," Silas said of Bullard, a veteran 6-10 forward in his first Charlotte season, "and he's been open."

He has been open, but little else, through the Hornets' first dozen games. Despite his long-range shooting skills, he had been taking only a few attempts in his role off the bench and had been making precious few.

Bullard hit two shots in the regular-season opener, then only one or none in each of his nine games since. Going into last Saturday's stop at Orlando, he was averaging 1.3 points, shooting 17.2 percent overall and 25 percent on three-pointers, his specialty. He had the dreaded DNP-CD's (Did Not Play-Coach's Decision) in two other games.

"It was real frustrating," Bullard said.

Then came the second of a weekend set of games with the Magic. Bullard played extended minutes (32) for the first this time season, and he got in the flow offensively, making seven of 17 from the field and scoring 19.