The Hawks can breathe a little easier going into the All-Star break.
They put the sour taste of back-to-back losses to the Magic behind them. Way behind them.
The Hawks dismantled the Bulls 113-90 in a game they led by a sizeable margin much of the second half Wednesday at the United Center.
The Hawks (31-24) enter the All-Star break tied for third in the Eastern Conference and now get some rest. They have beaten the Bulls in both meetings this season.
The Bulls (27-25) heard boos in losing their fourth consecutive and sixth of their past seven games.
The Hawks are off until Feb. 19, when the host the Heat.
Three key players
Dennis Schroder: The Hawks' backup point guard had 18 points, four assists and two rebounds to lead a strong bench effort.
Jeff Teague: The Hawks' starting point guard finished with 17 points in 27 minutes. Over the past eight games he has averaged 19.2 points.
Thabo Sefolosha: The Hawks' reserve forward finished with 10 points and six rebounds. Eight of his points came in the first half.
Five observations
1. Trade talk?
Lots of NBA trade rumors involve the Hawks seven days until the deadline. Al Horford and Teague have had their names in the mix. The Hawks may or may not make a deadline move — involving either or anybody else. Each showed what the mean to the team Wednesday. Horford had 16 points and five rebounds, and Teague had 17 points and eight assists.
2. Strong second
It was a back-and-forth first quarter as each team took leads with runs. The Bulls led by seven, 19-12, with an 8-0 run. The Hawks then took the lead, 23-21, with an 11-2 run. It was at the start of the second quarter when the Hawks got some separation with a 19-9 run to begin the period to take a nine-point advantage, 47-38. The Bulls were 2-of-8 with four turnovers in the stretch.
3. Stronger third
The Hawks broke open the game with a dominant third quarter. They outscored the Bulls 38-25 in the period. Nine of the Hawks who played in the quarter scored at least two points, with Kyle Korver and Schroder scoring eight apiece and Teague adding seven. The Hawks shot 68.4 percent (13-of-19) in the quarter. They would lead by as many as 19 points.
4. Bench play
The Hawks got a nice — and needed — boost from its bench early. The reserves scored 10 first-quarter and 23 first-half points, and the Hawks took a 53-48 lead at halftime. In the first half Sefolosha and Mike Scott each scord eight points and Schroder added seven. They would each be in double-digit scoring in the third quarter. The bench finished with 53 points.
5. Milestones
Horford pulled down two early defensive rebounds to tie Dominique Wilkins (3,588) for fourth in Atlanta history. Horford moved into the third spot with another defensive board in the second quarter. He finished with fjve rebounds, four defensive. Korver made a third-quarter 3-pointer to move into sole possession of eighth place on NBA/ABA all-time list with 1,831. He finished with two. The Clippers’ Jamal Crawford is seventh with 1,880 3-pointers going into Wednesday’s game at the Celtics.
