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Bulls bring nothing in loss to Atlanta

The Bulls seemed to hit a season crossroad this week.

After an impressive win at Memphis on Sunday, they were as ready as ever to start climbing in the Eastern Conference standings. The Bulls were 5-1 this month when Jimmy Butler was healthy and the bench was starting to perform better.

Step 1 was beating a team with an inferior record at home, and they failed that test against Dallas. But that mistake could be minimized with a strong performance Friday in Atlanta.

It didn't happen. The Bulls seemed to collectively scream, “We are not a good team” in a deceptive 102-93 loss at Philips Arena. The Hawks were ahead by 30 much of the night before the subs chipped away late.

After the game, Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters everything would be open to evaluation heading into Saturday's home game against Sacramento.

But it's never easy to find the right combination with this team. Butler tried to celebrate his all-star starting nod in style. He scored 17 points in the first half, but got no help. Center Robin Lopez was the team's second-leading scorer at halftime with 6 points.

In the first half, Atlanta shot 68 percent from the field and hit 8 of 12 attempts from 3-point range. The Bulls were 3-for-17 from behind the arc.

The Hawks were getting to the basket early and finished the first quarter with a 35-13 lead. In the second quarter, the home team knocked down a flurry of 3-pointers, including 2 from ex-Bull and new Hawk Mike Dunleavy. Atlanta led 65-36 at the break.

The only promising sign for the Bulls was a push from the bench in the fourth quarter. A lineup of Jerian Grant, Paul Zipser, Denzel Valentine, Bobby Portis and Nikola Mirotic trimmed the 30-point deficit all the way down to 95-90 with 1:08 remaining.

Grant finished with 12 points, while Portis and Zipser scored 10 each. Butler led the Bulls with 19 points, while point guard Dennis Schroder topped Atlanta with 25.

There's no easy way to summarize the Bulls' problems other than they never know who's going to show up, besides Butler, on a given night. Doug McDermott has been quiet since his career-high 31 points against Memphis.

Even some of the starters were invisible Friday. Taj Gibson had 6 points and 3 rebounds, Dwyane Wade scored 4 points on 2-of-10 shooting, while Michael Carter-Williams contributed just 3 points.

The bench guys played well in the fourth quarter, but added little in the second quarter when some deficit reduction could have made this a competitive game.

Most NBA teams have nights when nothing goes their way, but the Bulls have been in this spot four or five times in the past month.

If there's any consolation, it's not too late to make a run in the East. In fact, the Bulls are still in eighth place after Friday's action, although a challenging ice show road trip looms in less than two weeks.

Earlier in the day, Wade was asked about a report the Bulls would be interested in Wade's former Miami teammate Chris Bosh next season if he can overcome a medical issue. Bosh hasn't played at all this year due to a blood clot issue and may not play again.

Wade said if the Bulls have a Bosh plan, he's not aware of it.

“He's not even playing basketball right now, so he wants to continue to focus on his health,” Wade said, according to espn.com. “I think that's what he's doing. Basketball is something that he loves. I'm sure some day in the back of his mind it's something he would love to be able to do again, but I know there's steps (to take). That moment is not here now.”

• Get the latest Bulls news via Twitter by following @McGrawDHBulls.

Bulls game day

Bulls vs. Sacramento Kings at the United Center, 8 p.m. Saturday

TV: WGN

Radio: WLS 890-AM

Outlook: This game starts an hour later than usual and both teams will be playing the second leg of back-to-back games. Sacramento got some rough news this week when veteran forward Rudy Gay (18.7 points) tore his left Achilles tendon on Wednesday in a loss to Indiana and will be out for the season. C DeMarcus Cousins continues to be one of the league's best producers, averaging 28 points, 10.1 rebounds and 4.4 assists. PG Darren Collison (12.8 ppg) is now the only other player scoring in double figures. The Kings were the No. 8 seed in the West for a while, but are slipping, losing eight of 10 games before Friday's date in Memphis. The Bulls have won three in a row over Sacramento overall and five straight at the UC.

Next: Orlando Magic at the Amway Center on Monday, 6 p.m.

— Mike McGraw

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