Bulls just not able to finish job in 105-102 loss
If the Bulls couldn't beat a poor-shooting, defensively indifferent Knicks team on Monday, why would anyone believe they could knock off an Atlanta squad missing two key starters?
The Bulls had plenty of chances, but once again couldn't finish off a close game and lost 105-102 at the United Center.
The Hawks were missing forwards Al Horford (knee) and Marvin Williams (concussion) but got 31 points and several clutch plays from guard Mike Bibby.
After posting back-to-back victories over Toronto and Cleveland last week, the Bulls (18-25) have dropped three in a row. All 3 losses were by 5 points or fewer, and the Bulls led with less than six minutes remaining each time.
"That's pretty much been the story of our season so far," said guard Ben Gordon, who led the Bulls with 21 points. "We get close but are just not very good at closing things out."
The Bulls have some young players out there, including rookie point guard Derrick Rose. But they also have several key members of past playoff teams on the floor.
"Teams are different," coach Vinny Del Negro said. "I don't look back and say, 'Those were playoff guys.' Those were different teams.
"The bottom line is you have to step up and make plays. You can't turn the basketball over. You have to play smart. You have to know your limitations. You have to know time and score. There's a lot that goes into it."
This game fell apart for the Bulls with some bad selection late in the fourth quarter. Trailing 95-94, Gordon took a quick corner 3-pointer that bounced long and led to a fastbreak lay-in by Flip Murray.
On the next trip, Luol Deng drove the lane and threw up a hook shot that hit the side of the backboard. While Deng fell out of bounds, the Bulls weren't able to match up defensively with just four players and Bibby drained an open 3-pointer to put Atlanta ahead 100-94 with 3:59 left.
"I just think we've got some guys that are young, but even some of the older players are making mistakes at times that we shouldn't," Gordon said. "The guys who have been around, we've got to be more careful out there, especially in pressure situations. We just had some bad mistakes at the end."
The Bulls had chances to come back but failed to score on three straight possessions while trailing by 6. Then Gordon was fouled behind the 3-point line but missed 1 of the 3 free throws to keep the score 102-98 with 1:09 remaining.
Joe Johnson missed a few seconds later, but Joakim Noah's outlet pass was stolen by Bibby after he and Gordon collided at midcourt. Bibby then drained a jumper to make it 104-98 with 18.9 seconds on the clock and it was all over.
For the fourth straight game, the Bulls fell behind by at least 13 points in the first half. They rallied quickly Tuesday, thanks in part to center Aaron Gray.
Gray hadn't played in nearly a week, but the Bulls went on a 16-0 run once the 7-foot center checked in midway through the first quarter. Gray finished with 9 points and 5 rebounds in 13 minutes but also picked up 4 fouls.
"I probably should have played him a little bit more," Del Negro said.
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