The Hawks winning ways were short-lived.
A fourth-quarter rally fell short in a 107-103 loss to the Bulls Tuesday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks (26-30, 17-11 home) have lost nine of 10 games. The dropped their fifth straight to the Bulls, including all three games this season.
The Hawks took a 100-99 lead on a fast-break layup by DeMarre Carroll, on an assist from Jeff Teague, with 1:40 remaining. After a Mike Dunleavy layup, Carroll connected on a 3-pointer, late in the shot clock, with 1:06 left for a 103-101 lead.
However, Carroll was called for a foul on Kirk Hinrich on a 3-point attempt with 43.2 seconds left. Hinrich, the former Hawks, made all three freebies for a 104-103 lead. On the ensuing possession, a 3-pointer by Mike Scott missed but Carroll slapped the rebound back to Teague and coach Mike Budenholzer frantically called for a timeout with 28.4 seconds left.
Joakim Noah stripped Jeff Teague in the lane and the Bulls re-gained possession with 20.1 seconds left. After a steal by Kyle Korver on the inbounds pass, Teague drove into the paint but stepped out of bounds. Hinrich made two free throws with 11 seconds left.
Scott had a shot attempt stripped by Noah and Hinrich made another free throw with 4.7 seconds left for a four-point advantage.
Teague led the Hawks with a game-high 26 points, including 11 in the fourth quarter. Shelvin Mack added 17 points and Kyle Korver had 16 points. Carroll (13), Scott (12) and Lou Williams (12) were the other double-digit scorers.
Korver extended his NBA-record streak to 125 games with a 3-pointer.
The Hawks have not scored more than 85 points against the Bulls in the first two games this season with an average margin of defeat of 11 points.
The Bulls (30-26, 14-16 road) have won six of the past seven games. Dunleavy had 22 points. Noah had 20 points and Carlos Boozer had a double-double of 17 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bulls took an 80-75 lead into the final quarter on the strength of a D.J. Augustin half-court shot at the buzzer.
The Hawks held a 14-point lead in the first quarter but lost it midway through the second. The Bulls started the second quarter on a 19-7 run to take the lead with just over six minutes left in the first half. The Bulls took a 54-51 advantage into intermission, outscoring the Hawks 34-21 in the second, even as Teague hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
The Hawks started fast as Korver hit three straight 3-pointers to begin the game. An 11-2 first-quarter run gave the Hawks a 26-12 edge over the Bulls, who missed 10 of their first 13 shots.
The Hawks entered the game focused on ball movement to counter the bigger and more physical Bulls. It worked early.
“You can’t settle for staying on that first side,” Korver said before the game. “They are probably the best, them and Indiana, of really loading up and taking away the 3. They make you take tough 2s. Moving the ball from side to side is really important. It’s just a mindset. I’m not going to accept that I’m going to dribble it and drive to the basket. You have to be ‘OK, we are going to play this way. We are going to swing the ball.’ It’s still hard to do against this team.”
The Hawks play at the Celtics Wednesday.
About the Author