Hawks fall late to Bulls 107-103
Feb 25, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Atlanta Hawks power forward Elton Brand (42) and Chicago Bulls power forward Taj Gibson (22) fight for a rebound in the second quarter at Philips Arena. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-USA TODAY Sports
In a match-up between two Eastern Conference teams, both of which are without their best player for the season, the Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls squared off on Tuesday night. Despite trailing for most of the contest, the Hawks had two chances to tie or win the game within the final 12 seconds, but Jeff Teague’st Teague turned the ball over with 12 seconds left, and Mike Scott was officially tagged with a turnover with 7 seconds left when it appeared on replay that Scott was hit on the arm while attempting a three-pointer to potentially tie the game, but the Hawks fell to the Bulls, 107-103, for the third time this season.
The Chicago Bulls have had to adapt to life without Derrick Rose, and are just starting to adapt to what it means to play without Luol Deng, but the Bulls still have a great amount of front court talent. With Carlos Boozer, Joakim Noah, and Taj Gibson; the Bulls feature a number of healthy big men; the Hawks however don’t. Al Horford, Paul Millsap, Gustavo Ayon, and Pero Antic are all still out with injuries and the lack of any sort of front court presence left the Hawks extremely vulnerable. The Bulls would score 42 points in the paint and collect 15 offensive rebounds.
The Hawks started out the first quarter on fire, for what seemed like the first time in months, the Hawks had the lead 30-20 after one quarter of play. The Hawks 57% from the field while holding the Bulls to just 32% from the field. A first quarter that featured Kyle Korver, who wasted no time to extend his NBA record-breaking streak for consecutive games with a three-pointer made to 125 games. Korver made a three pointer 23 seconds into the game, and had three three-pointers in the first quarter. Korver recorded 10 of his 16 points in the first quarter.
The Bulls were lead by their center Noah, who recorded 20 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Mike Dunleavy had a team high 22 points and made four three-pointers while playing all 48 minutes of game action.
The offense was there for the Hawks tonight, despite being without any sort of healthy body on the front court the Hawks still shot 45% from the field for the game and made 14 three point field goals. The Hawks offensive attack was not only efficient, but also was well-spread out, the Hawks received double-digit scoring from Korver, Teague, DeMarre Carroll, Shelvin Mack, and Mike Scott
Teague, who recorded his first 20 point game in a month on Saturday against the Knicks, made it two in a row with a game high 26 points on 10-20 shooting from the field and 3-4 from three-point land. Teague, who averaged nearly 17 points per game and 8 assists through the first two months of the season, has seen his numbers fall to 13 points per game and 5 assists per game over January and February. Teague’s production has been essential
The Atlanta Hawks fall to 26-30 and have now lost nine of their last 10 games. The Hawks are firmly planted in the eight spot in the eastern conference, despite being third just weeks ago. The Hawks will jump right back on the horse tomorrow against the Boston Celtics (19-39) in enemy territory.