Hawks impressed with Bulls' tenacity on boards

ATLANTA — When the Bulls do well against the Hawks, it usually shows on the glass. Friday marked the fourth time in six games between these teams this season that the Bulls built a double-digit rebound advantage.

Joakim Noah led the Bulls with 15 boards in Game 3, while Taj Gibson grabbed 11. Their overall rebound advantage was 47-34.

“With rebounding, you never have anything figured out,” Noah said. “You just have to keep going after it. I feel like Taj did a wonderful job. We know if we can control the boards, we'll have a better chance of winning the game.”

Atlanta coach Larry Drew raised the possibility of using a taller lineup in Game 4. The Hawks' true centers, Zaza Pachulia and Jason Collins have been playing less than 10 minutes per game in this series.

On Thursday, the Hawks vowed to do a better job on the boards and marveled at Noah's energy.

“Joakim doesn't stop,” Marvin Williams said in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “He doesn't care if one guy's on him, two guys are on him. He'll find a way to tip it out, somehow come up with a rebound. Joakim Noah, (Carlos) Boozer — those guys are animals.”

“They don't take a possession off,” Joe Johnson added. “That's how they kill you.”

Korver recovers:

Bulls sharpshooter Kyle Korver hit just 1 of 9 shots in Game 2 and some were giving credit to Atlanta point guard Jeff Teague for sticking to Korver and invading his personal space.

Korver bounced back Friday by knocking down all 3 of his shots in the first half. He finished 3-for-4 from 3-point range.

“I didn't shoot yesterday. I just took a break,” Korver said. “A lot of times, you can get so locked in with, ‘I've got to make this next shot' and then you miss and you get all mad at yourself. I learned that from Jeff Hornacek in Utah. Sometimes, you've just got to take a day off.

“I felt like I was really trying to aim it the other day. Just didn't get into a very good flow. So yesterday I took a day off, and today I stayed extra with (assistant coach) Andy Greer and we got a couple hundred shots in after shootaround.”

Early indicator:

Hawks coach Larry Drew called timeout 49 seconds into Game 3 after Derrick Rose went coast-to-coast for a lay-in on the Bulls' second possession.

“I saw an energy level that, right away, I knew we were in trouble,” Drew explained. “When you play against an explosive guard like Derrick Rose, you have to make a commitment to getting back and making sure you try to keep him out of the paint.

“When I called timeout, I saw right then and there that my team had not made the commitment that we made in Game 1. ... To be perfectly honest, that was really discouraging to have to call a timeout that early.”

Smith hears jeers:

This hasn't been a great series for players wearing No. 5. Carlos Boozer heard some jeers during the first two games in Chicago.

Now that the series has shifted to Atlanta, Hawks forward Josh Smith is feeling the heat from home fans. The 6-foot-9 Smith is an explosive athlete, but has been bricking long jump shots in this series. The longer the shot, the louder the boos, although Smith eventually finished with 17 points and 13 rebounds.

Bull horns:

Derrick Rose produced the Bulls' first 40-point playoff game since Ben Gordon scored 42 in Game 2 at Boston in the 2009 first round. Before that was Michael Jordan's 45 points in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at Utah in 1998. ... Tom Thibodeau greeted Dikembe Mutombo like a long-lost brother in the locker room after the game. Those two worked together in Houston.