Hawks bounce back big with drubbing of Bulls

Lou Williams provided the energy the Hawks needed desperately.

Big time.

Williams was in the starting lineup and scored 14 first-half points as the Hawks defeated the Chicago Bulls 92-75 Saturday night at Philips Arena.

The Hawks led by as many as 26 points, a cushion built early in the fourth quarter, en route to a win remarkably different than their previous four games. The Hawks had lost three of those four games, trailing by at least 17 points in each. The win came in overtime against the lowly Wizards.

It was a different story Saturday.

The Hawks (16-9) put on an impressive effort, particularly in the second quarter, on their way to snapping a two-game losing streak. The victory was the 100th of Larry Drew’s head coaching career.

Al Horford led the Hawks in scoring as he rebounded from three subpar games. Horford finished with 20 points (9 of 12 shooting) and 10 rebounds. He had totaled just 25 points on 9-for-35 shooting in those three earlier games.

Williams finished with 16 points, and Kyle Korver (13), Josh Smith (12) and Jeff Teague (11) rounded out the double-figure scorers for the Hawks. The Hawks have victories over four of the six division leaders this season.

The Bulls (15-11) had a two-game win streak snapped and suffered their first road loss in the Eastern Conference this season. The loss came one night after the Bulls, the Central Division leaders, defeated the Knicks in New York.

Luol Deng led the Bulls with 11 points.

The Hawks started with a small lineup despite the front-court size of the Bulls. The disadvantage was an issue Friday night in a lopsided loss at the 76ers.

“We’ve played teams where we’ve given up size and we’ve been able to be competitive,” Drew said before the game. “That is the main thing going into the game against Chicago because they do play a physical style of ball with their size. We just have to be better. As I told the guys after the Philadelphia game, it’s not so much what Philly did to us, it’s what we did to ourselves. We have to play harder and be more competitive.”

The Hawks jumped all over the Bulls in the second quarter and took a 53-37 halftime lead. They outscored the Bulls 36-16 in the quarter, which included a 17-2 run. Williams punctuated the streak with a dunk with 2:55 remaining in the quarter, prompting a pose for the screaming crowd. Williams finished with 14 first-half points to pace three double-digit scorers. Horford had 12 and Korver 11.

The Hawks ended the second quarter with an 8-0 run, which included two 3-pointers from Korver. His buzzer-beater to end the half sent the Hawks rolling into intermission.

It was a slow start for the Hawks, who shot just 36.8 percent (7 for 19) in the first quarter. They missed their first six shots before a 3-pointer by Williams. The teams combined to miss their first 10 shots of the game.

The Hawks completed a stretch of four games in five days and are now off until Wednesday.

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