Chicago Bulls vs. Atlanta Hawks: Analysis of a wire-to-wire victory
By Malik Fourte
The Chicago Bulls looked to jump into the 7th seed in the Eastern Conference with a win against the Atlanta Hawks. What went down?
First Quarter
This was a pretty even quarter. The Bulls allowed one too many alley oops on the defensive end, but not really any complaints offensively.
The positive was the Bulls hit three 3-pointers as opposed to the Hawks’ one make. This carried over into the second quarter and the rest of the game.
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The problem was the Bulls were outscored 12-4 in the paint. It was a struggle to contain Dwight Howard.
End of 1st: Bulls were on business 23-21
Second Quarter
Highlight of the half brought to you by Jimmy Butler.
Though he didn’t convert the layup, he kinda did clear another grown man in the process.
The Bulls at one point assisted on 10 of their 14 buckets.
Halftime: Bulls kept up the pace to lead 52-46
Third Quarter
The Bulls scored a quick four points before the Hawks were forced into their first timeout of the half.
Rajon Rondo continued his offensive onslaught with a 3-pointer at the end of the shot clock. He already had 18 points to lead all scorers.
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The Hawks crawled their way back into the game thanks to free throws and open 3-pointers. The Bulls failed to close out on shooters trying to rotate to protect the paint.
Butler scored 16 points in the third quarter after scoring just eight in all of the first half.
End of 3rd: Bulls dropped down 79-84
Fourth Quarter
Once again, it was the same story. The second unit rotated too much, leaving shooters wide open. The Hawks went up 10 before the Bulls’ first timeout of the quarter.
Rondo willed the team back with his paint presence on offense, converting two layups through contact (no foul calls by the way).
He earned his new season-high of 25 points.
Off a Denzel Valentine 3-pointer, the Bulls have now made 10 or more 3s in six consecutive games, extending their franchise record.
Valentine then hit another one in transition to cut the Hawks’ lead to three, now down 100-97.
Butler was fouled on a potential game-winning jump shot. He converted both free throws as the Bulls took a 106-104 lead with 2.1 seconds left.
Kent Bazemore missed the game-winning 3-pointer.
The Bulls are now in 7th place in the Eastern Conference.
Final Score: Bulls win 106-104