Hawks pull inside job vs. Bulls
One important decision facing the Bulls on Tuesday was whether to go big or small with the starting guards.
But Atlanta rendered all backcourt strategies useless by dominating the inside during a 113-108 victory at the United Center. The Hawks (6-0) stayed unbeaten by overpowering the Bulls down low, then burying some timely 3-point baskets in the fourth quarter.
Atlanta power forward Al Horford equaled his career-high of 20 points with 3:51 remaining in the third quarter, eventually finishing with 27 points and 17 rebounds.
Center Zaza Pachulia (12 points, 8 rebounds), often an afterthought, also had a decent game as the Bulls' inside trio of Joakim Noah, Tyrus Thomas and Aaron Gray struggled to keep up.
"Our defense was terrible," Bulls forward Luol Deng said. "We did a poor job of picking up guys in transition. We didn't help one another."
"We're playing with a lot of energy, but we're not playing very well," added Andres Nocioni. "We're not doing the things we need to do to win. We're not controlling the games."
The Hawks snapped a seven-game losing streak in Chicago, winning for the first time since April 9, 2004.
Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro decided to stick with the smaller starting backcourt, featuring 6-foot-2 Derrick Rose and 6-2 Ben Gordon. But the matchup between Gordon and Atlanta's 6-7 Joe Johnson was uneventful. Gordon won scoring honors over Johnson 19-17, with Johnson hitting just 4 of 16 shots.
Atlanta's big men were so dominant, though, the guards didn't have to do much beyond passing the ball inside. Then when the Bulls overcompensated with their interior defense, Mike Bibby and Maurice Evans combined to hit 5 killer 3-pointers in the final 10 minutes.
Rose had his best game of the season statistically, finishing with 26 points, 10 rebounds and 6 assists, despite a back injury. Nocioni was hot from the outside and chipped in 20 points.
"(Rose) pulled a muscle in his back the first quarter," Del Negro said. "I think he'll be fine, but his back really tightened up. He wasn't sitting in timeouts very often, but he didn't want to come out of the game."
Both teams played short-handed. Atlanta was missing former slam-dunk champ Josh Smith (sprained ankle), while the Bulls were without Drew Gooden (sprained ankle) and Kirk Hinrich (thumb surgery). Larry Hughes (dislocated shoulder) is hoping to return Thursday.
After falling behind by 13 in the third quarter, the Bulls (3-5) mounted a rally early in the fourth, highlighted by an amazing pass by Thabo Sefolosha. Following an Atlanta miss, Rose threw a length-of-the-court pass that Sefolosha caught one-handed and in a single motion rifled the ball across court to Deng for a dunk.
The Bulls closed within 85-83 with 9:59 remaining. But after a pair of Atlanta free throws, Deng committed 2 straight turnovers, leading to a pair of Bibby 3-pointers on the other end, and Atlanta was suddenly up by 10.
After the Bulls crawled back within 102-97, it was Evans' turn to bury a critical 3-pointer. He added another on the next trip and the Hawks led 108-99 with 1:50 left.
<div class="infoBox"> <h1>More Coverage</h1> <div class="infoBoxContent"> <div class="infoArea"> <h2>Stories</h2> <ul class="links"> <li><a href="/story/?id=250045">Noah, Bulls can't contain Hawks' Horford (27 points) <span class="date"> [11/11/08]</span></a></li> </ul> </div> </div> </div>