The Atlanta Hawks were down by 20 points to the Chicago Bulls with eight minutes left on Thursday at home. About 20 real-time minutes later, the Hawks and State Farm Arena crowd celebrated a shocking comeback victory. Atlanta stunned Chicago with a 50-point fourth quarter and only one turnover- becoming the first team in the play-by-play era to do so. Led by Trae Young and Jalen Johnson, the Hawks pulled off a win that can be a huge momentum boost going forward. The star guard had 27 points and 13 assists, while Johnson totaled a career-high 30 points and 15 boards.
A few key rotation pieces were out for squads in this contest. Josh Giddey, Matas Buzelis, and Ayo Dosunmu missed this game. For Atlanta, Bogdan Bogdanović sat out for his second straight game due to a lower leg contusion.
This game was a track meet. Both teams pushed the ball in transition with every opportunity and shot over 51% from the field. The difference came at the free throw line. The Hawks shot 32-34 from the charity stripe, while Chicago only mustered five free points. Both teams valued possessions well. Outside of the first frame, the Hawks got everything they wanted on offense. Chicago was hot in the first three, but Atlanta turned up its defensive intensity in the fourth and the offense kept cooking, leading to the victory.
The Bulls did most of their damage from beyond the arc, hitting 22 out of their 43 triples. Jevon Carter, Zach LaVine, and Coby White accounted for 19 of those threes. Carter went nuclear in the first qaurter, hitting six threes, including two four-point play opportunities, for 19 points and 26 for the game. He led a 16-4 run to give the Bulls a 23-13 early lead. Carter outscored the Hawks by himself when Chicago led 19-16. The visitors took a 33-21 lead after the first.
In the second frame, the Hawks found their offensive rhythm. However, they could not stop the Bulls’ offense. Despite Atlanta scoring 32 points, Chicago still put up 31. The visitors took a 64-53 lead at halftime. Johnson had already racked up a 31-point, 11-rebound double-double.
The third quarter belonged to LaVine. Similarly to Carter, Chicago’s star was perfect on all six of his threes and scored 22 of his 37 points in the frame. The Hawks cut the deficit to single digits a few times, but LaVine and the Bulls seemed to hit a triple every time down the floor in response. Atlanta went on a 7-0 run to cut Chicago’s lead to 89-84, but the Bulls responded with an 11-3 stretch of their own. They reached the 100-point mark with 2:45 left in the third quarter and took a 21-point lead into the fourth. Even though the Hawks scored 38 points, the Bulls won the third quarter with 44 tallies.
Atlanta was down by 19 points with eight minutes left, but Zaccharie Risacher provided a spark to fire up his teammates. A 9-2 run highlighted by back-to-back threes from Young and Dyson Daniels, cut the deficit to 126-116 with 4:30 on the game clock. LaVine committed a clear-path foul on Young, resulting in a five-point Hawks possession; this sequence provided the springboard Atlanta needed. The Hawks tied the game on a 19-2 run led by Young, Johnson, and De’Andre Hunter. Young’s three tied the contest at 126, and after Daniels found Johnson for a dunk to take the lead, Atlanta never looked back. The Hawks closed the game on a whopping 34-9 run, sending fans into a frenzy.
The Hawks’ next contest comes Saturday at home against the Miami Heat. They will want to end the homestand on a positive note before heading out on a six-game road trip.
