After a five-game winning streak that saw the Atlanta Hawks playing the best basketball they have played this season, Atlanta has now dropped two straight, following their 111-100 loss to the Chicago Bulls.
Atlanta started off the game well, despite having 7 turnover’s and shooting just 1-8 from three in the first quarter alone. The Hawks defense kept them in the game, holding the Bulls to just 17 on 6-25 shooting from the field, with 2 steals and blocks. They did a great job with the ball movement, with almost every shot in the first quarter coming off an assist.
It looked as if the Hawks would continue riding their hot streak after their mind-boggling loss against the Charlotte Hornets on Saturday , however, a 40-point quarter quelled any assumptions of a blowout.
Alex Caruso for the Bulls, came off the bench and immediately scored 5 straight points and a steal to quick off the quarter. After that, Atlanta seemed lost defensively, with rotations collapsing and defensive breakdowns on almost every other play. The front-court of Jalen Johnson and Frank Kaminsky proved disastrous for the Hawks all game, and the starters play in the second was simply atrocious.
In the second-half Atlanta seemed to turn things around, holding the Bulls under 25 points on the quarter, and Trae Young carried offensively adding 12 points and 3 assist in the third frame. The Bulls and Hawks went back and forth all quarter, with Young tying the game with just 4 seconds left in the quarter.
An 11-2 run to start the fourth pretty for Chicago effectively sealed the game away, with Atlanta unable to come within 5 points for the rest of the game. Bogdan Bogdanovic had one of his worst games of the season, scoring just 11 points on inefficient shooting, and to add to that he posted a -20 plus/minus.
The Hawks hopes of getting a top-6 seed are quickly dwindling as they need to put together a strong stretch of games to ensure they do not end up having yet another under-preforming season.
Hawks fans are hoping to get a victory against the suddenly surging-Oklahoma City Thunder who have won 7 of their last 10 games. Atlanta heads to OKC on Wednesday night for an 8:00 p.m. tip-off.
