Bulls crush Hawks, 114-81
Bulls broadcaster Stacey King often asks if teams didn't get the memo about Derrick Rose's rise to superstardom.
Instead of a memo, the Bulls sent out a sonic boom of a message during Tuesday night's nationally televised game in Atlanta.
While Rose dropped in 6 of 8 shots from 3-point range and scored 30 points, the Bulls plucked the Hawks to the tune of a 72-43 halftime lead and later a resounding 114-81 victory at Philips Arena.
The Bulls (51-19) stayed in control of the race for first place in the Eastern Conference, moving a half-game ahead of Boston with 12 remaining.
Anyone who is not taking the Bulls seriously as a championship contender was given plenty of food for thought on this night.
Rose added 10 assists and probably has all but clinched the most valuable player award. Luol Deng hit 10 of 15 shots to add 27 points. The rest was all balance. Kyle Korver scored 9 points, while Taj Gibson contributed 9 points and 8 rebounds.
“We have a lot of confidence,” Deng told reporters after the game. “When our mind-set is right on defense, we seem to work harder on offense. When we're not as focused on defense, it kind of leads to our offense. We just go through the motions. … We're trying to do great things in the playoffs.”
The Bulls shot an incredible 73.8 percent from the field in the first half (31 of 42). They were at 54.4 percent overall, while winning the rebound battle 40-26.
For the second straight night, the Bulls shot the lights out from 3-point range, going 10-for-18 against the Hawks. That makes 22-for-35 from behind the arc on consecutive nights, including Monday's 40-point win over Sacramento.
With three minutes left in the first quarter, the Bulls held a slim 20-19 edge. The visitors finished the quarter with an 11-2 run, capped by a Deng 3-pointer.
Then with the usual Deng-plus-four reserves lineup on the floor to open the second quarter, the Bulls played about as well as a basketball team can play.
They knocked down 12 of their first 13 shots in the second quarter. The only miss was a Kyle Korver 18-footer, and Taj Gibson scored after grabbing the offensive rebounds.
In the middle of that offensive explosion, Deng drained 3 straight free throws after being foul on a 3-point attempt.
The 12-of-13 run put the Bulls' lead at 59-37, then Rose decided to add style points. He buried 3 straight 3-point shots in the final 2:08 and the Bulls had their 29-point halftime lead.
The last time they played in Atlanta, the Bulls squandered a 17-point halftime advantage and lost 83-80 on March 2.
On this night they kept pulling away from the hapless Hawks. The lead didn't peak until C.J. Watson's free throws with 7:54 remaining put the Bulls ahead by 47 points at 111-64.
Atlanta (40-31) was led by Jeff Teague's 20 points. The Hawks played at full strength but fell to 7-13 in their last 20 games. The addition of ex-Bulls guard Kirk Hinrich, expected to solidify the defense, has Atlanta moving backward.
“This is starting to get embarrassing,” Atlanta's Josh Smith said.