Pippen Ain't Easy
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Chicago Bulls: Team effort leads to road win in Atlanta

By Luke Askew

ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 27: Zach LaVine #8 of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball against the Atlanta Hawks on October 27, 2018 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images)
ATLANTA, GA - OCTOBER 27: Zach LaVine #8 of the Chicago Bulls handles the ball against the Atlanta Hawks on October 27, 2018 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, Georgia. NOTE TO USER: User expressly acknowledges and agrees that, by downloading and/or using this photograph, User is consenting to the terms and conditions of the Getty Images License Agreement. Mandatory Copyright Notice: Copyright 2018 NBAE (Photo by Scott Cunningham/NBAE via Getty Images) /
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The Chicago Bulls took on the Atlanta Hawks in an extremely important game for Fred Hoiberg and co. Did the Bulls get back on track?

The Chicago Bulls got throttled in Charlotte on Friday night in a game where nearly everyone failed to show up. Having to go to Atlanta the following night, the Bulls would find themselves in position to either bounce back or continue trending downhill.

Fortunately for the Bulls (and Fred Hoiberg), the Bulls decided to show some resilience and fight for a quality road win. Final score: Bulls 97, Hawks 85.

Against the Hawks, there were multiple factors that led to the win.

For starters, the defense was outstanding. Sure, some of this was the Hawks consistently taking bad shots, but credit needs to be given to the Bulls for not giving them easy looks. The Bulls held the Hawks to 25 points or less in all four quarters and only 19 points in both the second and third quarter.

That’s pretty good considering the Bulls gave up 45 points in the second quarter to the Hornets. Clearly, they made some adjustments.

As far as individual performances go, there were multiple key Bulls in tonight’s victory.

Zach LaVine provided his usual magic, scoring 27 points on 9-of-19 shooting from the field and adding 11 rebounds.

Wendell Carter Jr. had his best night as a professional. He scored 10 points (a career-high) and added 10 rebounds (also a career-high), notching his first ever double-double despite only playing 22 minutes.

Jabari Parker had another stellar game off the bench. He finished the game with 18 points, 8 rebounds and 3 assists on 7-of-16 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from 3-point range.

Justin Holiday stepped up big when the Bulls needed him most. He connected on 4 of his 10 attempts from behind the 3-point line and added an impressive 5 steals.

Perhaps the most important performance of the night, however, came from Ryan Arcidiacono. “Arch” scored a career-high 13 points on 5-of-10 shooting from the field and added 7 assists, 2 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block in 31 minutes of action. Arcidiacono was simply sensational.

Tonight’s game was a complete team effort, which is extremely encouraging after the poor performance from nearly everyone against the Hornets. As for Fred Hoiberg? He seems to agree.

"Hoiberg said, “Everybody that stepped on the floor made a contribution tonight.”"

The Hawks are a bad team, so maybe this win doesn’t mean very much on the surface, but it showed that the Bulls have some resilience, which actually means a lot. In back to back road games, it would be pretty easy to roll over and give the Hawks a chance to win. Instead, they stepped up to the plate and played possibly their best game of the season.

Next. 3 Bulls that need to step up. dark

The Bulls will look to continue their solid play on October 29 as they take on the Golden State Warriors at home.

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