It’s a dangerous game the Hawks are playing of late.
After falling behind by large first-half margins the past two games, the Hawks rallied only to fall short. The latest came Wednesday night in a 98-77 loss to the Bulls at Philips Arena.
The Hawks trailed the Bulls by 18 points in the first half. The used a 16-2 run to cut the lead to four points, 56-52, but would get no closer. The Bulls used an 18-4 run of their own in the third quarter to push the lead back to 18 points. Luol Deng provided the final nail in the coffin with a 3-pointer to cap the run. It came on a pass from Taj Gibson, who gathered the rebound of his own miss when Ivan Johnson failed to box him out.
From there the Bulls' lead only increased.
On Tuesday, the Hawks trailed by 17 points to the Bucks. They battled back to take a three-point lead before succumbing in the fourth quarter. They wouldn't get that close against the Eastern Conference-leading Bulls.
Deng led the Bulls (41-11, 21-6 road) with a game-high 22 points, including five 3-pointers. Carlos Boozer added 20 points and Gibson had 19. The Bulls have won eight of their past 10 despite playing without reigning league MVP Derrick Rose (groin) the past eight games. The Bulls took the season series from the Hawks, 3-1.
The Hawks (30-22, 16-8 home) lost for the second straight night, losing the final two games of a streak of five games in six nights.
“What it is, is a test of our character to see how we respond to so many games in a short period of time,” Hawks coach Larry Drew said before the game. “Tonight will be a huge challenge. I’m excited to see how our guys will respond.
“It’s a test of will and at this stage of the season you can’t make up a lot of excuses on why you can’t get the job done. This is the time of the season where you have to roll your sleeves up and grind it out.”
Josh Smith led the Hawks with 19 points, but struggled from the field. Jeff Teague added 13 points and Joe Johnson had 12 points.
The Bulls built its 18-point first half lead with a remarkable second quarter. They made 12 of 18 shots (66.7 percent), including five 3-pointers. For the first half, the Bulls were 7-of-8 (87.5 percent) from behind the arc. The only miss was a desperation heave at the buzzer. Deng had 14 first-half points as he made all three of his 3-point attempts. John Lucas had 10 points in the first half.
The Hawks led by eight points, 13-5, in the first quarter. But they would go cold in the second quarter, shooting just 8 of 21 (38.1 percent). Smith led the Hawks with 13 first-half points, but that came on 5 of 14 shooting.
The Bulls erased the Hawks early lead by by going on a 14-2 run that ended the first quarter and started the second. They followed with an 18-7 run near the end of the half culminating with Lucas’ 3-pointer, the Bulls’ seventh straight, for a 54-36 lead.
There were a few tense moments in a game that wasn't close for long stretches. Johnson was close to being called for a flagrant foul with 6:41 remaining when he grabbed Gibson around the neck, pulling him to the floor, while trying to stop a layup.
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