The Hawks suffered a brutal, 110-108 loss, to the Chicago Bulls at State Farm Arena on Wednesday night. With 1.8 seconds left on the clock, and the game tied at 108, Bulls forward, DeMar DeRozan, took a mid-range jumper over De’Andre Hunter that sailed far over the rim. The air-ball fell right into John Collins’ hands, but Collins could corral the loose ball, and Bulls guard, Ayo Dosunmu, took advantage of the Hawks’ miscue and hit an easy put-back as the clock expired.
Right out of the gate, the Hawks’ offense struggled, with the exception of Trae Young. The Bulls rushed out to a 16-7 lead, but Young carried the Atlanta attack, scoring 16 in the first quarter alone. Outside of the star-point guard, nobody else had more than three points for Atlanta. The Bulls took a 30-25 lead into the second quarter, and Atlanta’s defense worsened, allowing free paths to the rim, when Onyeka Okongwu and Collins were off the floor. On the offensive side, whenever Young exited, the Hawks could not generate any quality offense. With both the offense and defense struggling, Chicago ballooned their lead to as many as 18, on the backs of Zach LaVine and DeMar DeRozan, who each had 12 and 13 points respectively in the first-half. Young scored in bunches, including a season-high six three-pointers in the first-half for 29 points, as the Hawks trailed 61-51 at half-time.
After a sub-par first-half, Dejounte Murray scored three quick baskets to cut into the Bulls’ lead. Hawks’ Head Coach, Nate McMillan, went with a seven-man rotation in the second-half, with A.J. Griffin and Bogdan Bogdanovic being the only two players to come off the bench. The Hawks cut the deficit to four, at 77-81, heading into the fourth quarter, holding Chicago to just 20 points in the third. Atlanta tied the game at 85, following back-to-back three’s from Bogdanovic and Griffin. Griffin drained another triple after a Chicago timeout to give the Hawks their first lead, at 88-87. Oddly enough, Griffin did not get much playing time, even with his efficient shooting, as he was benched in favor of De’Andre Hunter.
Atlanta clawed its way back to hold an 8-point lead with about five minutes remaining. It was no match, as the Bulls cashed in on five consecutive mid-range jumpers down the stretch, before Dosunmu’s game-winner.
As excellent as Young was in the first-half with 29 points, he only finished with 34 points, while chipping in 6 assists and 6 rebounds. After a slow start, Murray finished with 15 points, 10 assists and 5 rebounds. While Collins did not have a great night offensively, his defense around the rim, especially in the second-half, kept Atlanta in this one. Okongwu had one of his best games of the season, dropping 18 points, 11 assists and 5 blocks. Griffin and Bogdanovic added 14 and 13 points, respectively.
For Chicago, DeRozan was a master in the mid-range, finishing with 28 points, 6 rebounds and 5 assists. LaVine finished with 22 points, 5 assists and 5 rebounds, while Nikola Vucevic dropped 20 points and 7 rebounds. Andre Drummond also hurt the Hawks in his 15 minutes, collecting 11 rebounds coming off the bench.
Atlanta must move on from this tough loss and regroup for the final game before Christmas Day. The Hawks have a great chance against the lowly-Detroit Pistons at home on Friday night. Tip-off for this one starts at 7:30 p.m. eastern.
