Thank goodness for the Bulls.
The Hawks won for the second time in the past seven games and both victories have come against the Bulls. Atlanta led Chicago by as many as 18 points en route to the 103-88 victory in a nationally televised game Friday night at Philips Arena.
The Hawks (32-27) snapped a three-game losing streak, all at home following the all-star break. They have won all three meetings between the teams this season by an average of 17.6 points per game.
The Hawks can, at least for a moment, breathe a sigh of relief.
The Bulls (30-27) had a three-game win streak snapped
Here are the key players and five observations on the game:
Three key players
Al Horford: The Hawks center had 18 points, on 8 of 11 shooting, and five rebounds. He scored five straight points in the fourth quarter – a vicious dunk and a 3-pointer – to push a lead from 10 to 15 points.
Jeff Teague: The Hawks point guard finished with 19 points and nine assists.
Kent Bazemore: The Hawks small forward had 17 points and seven rebounds.
Five observations
1. Wall? What wall?
Bazemore has struggled of late, scoring a combined 20 points in the previous five games. He nearly matched that total in one game. The small forward at one point had 14 points on 5 of 6 shooting from inside the arc and 0 of 7 from outside it. He broke the long-range streak, making his first 3-pointer after 16 straight misses overall, with a corner shot in the fourth quarter that gave the Hawks an 88-74 lead with six minutes remaining.
2. Teague takeover
The Hawks led by as many as 18 points in the third quarter thanks to Teague. The point guard had seven points and three assists in the quarter as the Hawks opened their biggest lead of the game. His 3-pointer with 5:26 left put the Hawks up big before the Bulls closed the gap with an 11-1 run. The Hawks answered back and went into the final quarter with a 79-67 advantage. Teague had 17 of his points through three quarters.
3. In the paint
The Hawks led by as many as 15 points in the second quarter. The last advantage that big came at 44-29 with 4:48 left before the Bulls ended the first half on a 15-7 run. The Hawks dominated in the paint in the quarter, leading 16-8 on 8 of 11 shooting inside. They held a 14-0 advantage before the Bulls’ closing run.
4. 3-point troubles
The Hawks and Bulls were dreadful from 3-point range. After one quarter, they were a combined 1 of 17 and after two quarters they were a combined 3 of 30. The Hawks starters were 1 of 16 and the Bulls starters were 1 of 7 in the first half.
5. No D-Rose
The Bulls played a second straight game without Derrick Rose, who is battling right hamstring tendinitis. The Bulls also play Saturday night at home against the Trail Blazers. “The issue with his hamstring still isn’t resolved,” Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg said. “As of right now no (MRI). They feel it’s a tendinitis issue. It’s very tender on that hamstring tendon.” The Bulls started Tony Snell in the backcourt with E’Twaun Moore. Rose has averaged 26 points, 5.7 rebounds and 4.7 assists in his three games following the all-star break.
