CHICAGO -- The Hawks lost focus in the second half and dropped Tuesday’s contest to the Bulls 118-113.
Here are five observations:
1. The Hawks led the Bulls by as many as 12 points in the third quarter but could not put them away. The Bulls roared back on a 14-5 run in the third frame and kept the Hawks within their sights and left them nursing a two-point lead heading into the fourth.
The Bulls had couple of role players put pressure on the Hawks with Ayo Dosunmu scoring 10 of his 19 points in the fourth quarter. Alex Caruso hit a huge 3 to give the Bulls a 109-106 lead with just under four minutes to play before DeMar DeRozan hit a pair of back-to-back jumpers that kept the Bulls up three with 1:42 to play.
DeRozan had just four points coming out of the first half and scored 21 points in the second half, including the game-icing bucket.
2. The Hawks had done all the right things to get themselves into the game after scoring a season-low 17 points in the first quarter. They simply could not buy a bucket despite taking the same number of field-goal attempts as the Bulls.
They made just seven of their overall shots.
But they held the Bulls to just 22 points in the second quarter by getting bodies into them and making them work. They took away the glass, holding them to just five defensive rebounds in the period.
The Hawks stopped finishing possessions, however, and the Bulls jumped on it and outrebounded the Hawks 12-6 on the offensive glass in the second half. The Bulls outrebounded the Hawks 48-40.
The Hawks rank 28th in the league in opponent second-chance points, averaging 15.7 points per game.
”Collectively, we just have to make each possession more important” Hawks coach Quin Snyder said. “We had some mental mistakes where we did get stops and either didn’t come up with a loose ball or threw the ball away and we can’t afford to put more pressure on ourselves.”
3. Jalen Johnson returned to the Hawks’ lineup after missing the team’s last 14 games. Though Snyder warned that Johnson would not pick up where he left off from a minutes perspective, he did from a play standpoint.
Just minutes into the game, Johnson charged baseline to grab an offensive board and scored the put-back. He then scored the Hawks’ next bucket on a cutting layup.
The Hawks forward proved why the Hawks have needed him as he took on the assignment of guarding DeRozan on some of the possessions. He helped hold DeRozan scoreless for much of the first half with his first set of points coming on free throws with 3:30 left in the second quarter.
Johnson ended the night with 10 points and nine rebounds.
“This is my second year really playing,” Johnson said. “So like, the game’s got to be slowing down for me. So just understanding and playing smarter. It’s not really too much about picking up where I left off. I was out for a month. So I’m watching and seeing things and understanding how the game goes. So I’m just picking up on those things and really locking in during that month helped me pick up where I left off.”
4. Bulls center Andre Drummond gave the Hawks a lot of trouble on Tuesday night. He did not miss a shot early, going a perfect 7-of-7 in the first half, while torching the Hawks on the glass.
He had 12 rebounds in the first half despite Clint Capela and the Hawks putting bodies on him to try and limit him. But Drummond smothered them on the glass, with five of his 12 rebounds coming on the offensive end.
Drummond continued in the second half as he took advantage of matchups and created space to work the glass. He ended the night with 24 points and had 25 rebounds as he decimated the Hawks on the boards and took advantage of the offensive glass.
Chicago scored 24 points on 11-of-14 second-chance opportunities.
Drummond started the night’s matchup, with Nikola Vucevic out for the game with a left adductor contusion.
5. The Hawks’ Trae Young, who scored 21 points and had 13 assists, saw his recent streak of 30-plus points and 10-plus assists games snapped. He remains tied with Oscar Robertson at seven such games.
Stat to know
22 -- Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Hawks with 22 points.
Quotable
“It’s always good. I’ve seen him work hard to get back and having him back, he’s going to help us.” -- Clint Capela on Jalen Johnson’s return.
Up next
The Hawks host the Kings on Friday at State Farm Arena.
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