At some point, it stops being a hot streak.
The Hawks reached the halfway point of their season as clearly the best team in the Eastern Conference. Their torrid run has reached new heights – again – with another exclamation point victory.
The Hawks went into Chicago and beat up the Bulls 107-99 Saturday for their 12th straight win. It was also their 12th in a row on the road and they have won 26 of the past 28 games, dropping just two since Nov. 28.
This is the top team in the East.
The Hawks (33-8) kept their five-game lead in the conference. They pushed their advantage over the Bulls, a team many considered the favorite in the conference, to 6-1/2 games. The win was the second over the Bulls this season and snapped a six-game skid at the United Center.
“We just feel fortunate to get out of here with a win,” Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said.
The Hawks won each of a brutal stretch of four road games in five nights. The team’s current win streak is the longest since they won 14 in a row from Nov. 16 to Dec. 14 of 1993. Over the last five games, the Hawks are scoring 109.4 points and allowing 91.0 points.
Kyle Korver led the Hawks with a game-high 24 points, including a season-high seven 3-pointers. Al Horford scored 22 points on 11 of 14 shooting. The center is 27 of 32 (.844) in his past three games.
Jeff Teague had a double-double of 17 points and 11 assists. He was forced to play 36 minutes after injuries to backup point guards Dennis Schroder and Shelvin Mack.
“I felt like a lot of them were in transition,” Korver said of his 3-pointers. “A couple were just good drive and kicks early but I think most of them were in transition. That has been an area where we have been successful this season.”
The Bulls (27-15) were led by Derrick Rose with 23 points. Joakim Noah missed the game with an ankle injury.
The Hawks led by as many as 14 points and took a 48-39 lead into halftime. The Hawks harassed the Bulls early into a 26 percent shooting percentage (5 of 19) and seven turnovers in the first quarter. They pushed their lead to 14 early in the second quarter with a 13-4 run and the end of the first and start of the second quarter.
The Hawks opened up a 15-point lead in the third quarter when Korver hit his sixth 3-pointer and Teague followed with a steal and dunk. The back-to-back buckets had the home crowd booing.
The Bulls made another charge and pulled to with seven points, 76-69, to start the fourth quarter. But Korver converted a four-point play when he was fouled on a corner 3-pointer.
“I remember Thabo (Sefolosha) being ahead of me and on the break I’m always trying to find the open spot,” Korver said. “The open spot was in the corner. I had made a couple shots so I took an aggressive one and knocked it in.”
The Hawks are now 28-1 when they lead by 10 or more points during the game. They have enjoyed a double-digit advantage in each of the 12 games of the winning streak.
“Our defense did terrific, especially in the first half,” Paul Millsap said. “We came out a little sluggish. We had a tough game last night. We grinded it out.”
The Hawks lost reserve guard Mack to a strained left calf in the second quarter.
The injury cost the Hawks their only backup point guard as it became apparent that Schroder was unavailable. Schroder, who wore a stimulant boot on his left ankle in the locker room before the game, sat at the end of the bench. He did not act like he would play when Mack left for the locker room.
Budenholzer did not indicate that Schroder was injured when asked specifically whether all players were available. He said only Pero Antic would not play. The reserve center was inactive. Following the game, Budenholzer admitted the Schroder was injured his ankle in Friday’s win over the Raptors. He said he expects Schroder to be available Monday.
The Hawks gave no indication of the severity of Mack’s injury.
Mack left the game after scoring a layup with 9:16 left in the second quarter. He came up limping after the play and was replaced by Teague. Kent Bazemore played some point guard in the second half when Teague briefly rested.
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