After their 300-point affair on Sunday afternoon, the Chicago Bulls and the Hawks followed it up with a cool 249, as the Bulls beat the Hawks 126-123, while extending their win streak to four games.
Trailing by as many as 18 in the third quarter, the Bulls fought all the way back to win it t as the Hawks couldn’t get anything to go during the final frame, where they shot just 7-of-23, and scored just three field goals in the final 6:27 of the game.
Coby White had a chance to ice the game after an offensive rebound on a Nikola Vucevic miss gave the Bulls a chance to put the Bulls up three with 12.4 to go. He made one-of-two, which left the door open for Nickeil Alexander-Walker’s game-tying layup with just 1.9 to play.
That’s when the Hawks committed an away-from-the-ball foul, putting White at the line for the win. White led the way for the Bulls in scoring with 24 points on 7-of-13 shooting.
Things got a bit feisty in the fourth quarter when Jalen Johnson got in Matas Buzelis‘ face after an and-one. Then Trae Young slapped Ayo Dosunmu‘s backside on the way to the bench, which sparked a commotion.
Double-technicals on Dosunmu and Young was much ado about nothing after the two teams had played seven quarters against one another.
What was ado about something was the turnovers, which plagued the Bulls all night. Seven in the second quarter and five more in the third led to 16 total and 23 points off turnovers for the Hawks. White and Josh Giddey each had seven turnovers.
Up next: The Bulls will now head back to Chicago for a six-game homestand starting with the Philadelphia 76ers on Friday.
Tune into the CHGO Bulls postgame live:
It’s time to show some respect to Giddey.
Heading into the game, Giddey was shooting 37-of-87 (42.5 percent) on catch-and-shoot threes. He was 10-of-32 (31.3 percent) with a defender between four and six feet away, and 40-of-91 (44 percent) with defenders giving him more than six feet of space.
Against the Hawks on Tuesday, he went 2-of-5 from deep en route to 19 points to go along with his 11 rebounds and 15 assists, his seventh triple-double of the year.
In other words, teams continue to leave Giddey open, daring him to shoot threes, and Giddey keeps making them pay. And that’s a great thing for the Bulls’ offense.
At a certain point, that may change — teams may eventually get wise to the fact that he has been effective in those situations dating back to last season when he went 83-of-216 or 38.4 percent. That’s now over a 300-shot sample of him shooting 39.6 percent on catch-and-shoot threes, which points to that being a very real addition to his game.
If and when it does change, it will open up more driving lanes where he can put his shoulder into defenders on his way to the basket for fouls, layups and spray out opportunities. Giddey is at his best when he’s driving downhill with an advantage, so getting more opportunities to attack closeouts will only allow him to tap into the elements of his game that make him a special player.
The postseason is a different animal, and if the Bulls can make it there this season, it will go a long way in giving us real answers. But for now, Giddey is doing everything he can to round out his game.
Bulls vs. Hawks. 2 Fast 2 Furious.
The Bulls came out and kept pace with the Hawks for the 1st quarter but couldn’t keep up with the shooting. Tough second quarter saw bad shooting, a lot of turnovers and opponent fast break points. Points off turnovers are crazy.
The Bulls’ bench struggled as well. Didn’t have that spark that we are used to seeing from them.
Giddey is a goddamn triple-double machine. Goodness. He is aggressive and teams are gonna have to start respecting his three-point shot.
Giddey’s turnovers were a problem, though. It wasn’t that he had them; it was how he was getting them. Got ripped up, gave one away, loss of dribble, etc. Can’t have those.
Glad to see Buzelis continuing to show flashes. It’s all I want.
The Bulls’ free-throw shooting wasn’t good either. Don’t know what’s going on with them, but man, it’s not great.
Did anyone see the dude who was sitting next to CeeLo Green?
— Big Dave
The Bulls love to make the easy thing look very difficult.
From passing up open shots for choppy passes and clumsy and out-of-sorts defensive efforts, it’s just an irritating product on the court.
Yet, it somehow works every once in a while.
The Bulls are never out of it.
The Dosunmu-Young brouhaha injected life into a rather lifeless Bulls team. Poor timing from Young, but you wouldn’t expect anything different from the guy who spent the night chucking up threes from Athens.
Giddey’s triple-double was neat, too.
And suddenly, the Bulls have won four games in a row. Clearly, the Bulls’ turnaround is for real this time, right?
Merry Christmas.
