The Bulls, led by the duo DeMar DeRozan and Zach Lavine, combined for 65 points tonight to win against the Hawks, 130-118. Cam Reddish had 33 points shooting 61.5% from the three. Chicago is now one game behind Brooklyn for the one seed in the eastern conference.

Game Recap

The Bulls Big Three carries

Atlanta was hot all night long, so that meant the Bulls had to stay hot for all four quarters. They scored at least 29 points each quarter, including 38 points in the second quarter. The Big Three of Nikola Vucevic, Zach Lavine, and DeMar DeRozan combined for 89 points tonight, 68% of the Bulls points.

Vucevic gets his 15th double-double of the season with 24. points and 17 rebounds. While Zack LaVine gets his 10th 30 point performance and recorded nine assists. DeMar DeRozan had 35 points and shot 70% from the field, which he has done now for the third.

Hawks 113 Points Not Enough

Atlanta entered the night with many players in the NBA’s health and safety protocols. But the one player they got back tonight was Trae Young, who got 29 points in 40 minutes. Bogdan Bogdanovic added 20 points, and Clint Capela had almost a double-double with 8 points and 16 rebounds.

Atlanta Come Out Hot

The Hawks came out and were red hot from the field, shooting 57.7%. That 57.7% was because of the two leading scorers tonight for the Hawks of Trae Young with 12 points and Cam Reddish with 11 points in the first quarter.

The Bulls had no answers for the Capela-Young pick-and-roll offense. DeRozan scored 15 out of the Bulls’ 31 first-quarter points, and Chicago shot 60% from the three-point line to keep them in the game.

Chicago Takes Control

In the first eight minutes of the second quarter, the Hawks held the lead, but that was until Zach Lavine took the lead with a technical free throw, 55-54. That was the first lead the Bulls had since 6-5 in the first quarter.

After that technical free throw, Chicago went on a 14-9 run to finish the second quarter. Zack Lavine finished the first half with 23 points, including 17 points in the second quarter and a buzzer-beater over Cam Reddish to finish the first half at 69-63.

Coby White Helps Build Lead

Chicago and Atlanta went back-and-forth to start the third quarter. The Hawks brought the Bulls’ lead within three points, but Chicago responded with a 13-4 run. Matt Thomas, with two three-pointers, helped extend the Bulls lead to 16 points.

Coby White scored 10 points in the third quarter after struggling in the first half guarding Trae Young and shooting 0%. A Gorgui Dieng three-pointer brought the lead down within single digits, but DeMar DeRozan responded with a mid-range shot to get the score to 98-87 to finish the third quarter.

Great Finish

The Hawks started the fourth quarter with an 8-2 led by two three-pointers by Bogdanovic and Reddish to bring the lead down to five for Chicago. DeRozan led the Bulls’ response with three mid-range shots. But Reddish, with 14 points in the fourth quarter, had another three-pointer to cut the Bulls’ lead to three points. Vucevic had the response with two three-pointers to get led to eight.

Atlanta got cold in the final four minutes and only got four points. At the same time, the Bulls scored nine points to close out the game to get the final score of 130-118. That makes the Bulls get their fourth straight win. Chicago’s last loss was on December 11th against Miami.

Final Thoughts

Vucevic Becomes Third Scorer

Vucevic in December has averages of 17.4 points and 9.5 rebounds. In the second half, Vucevic gave the Bulls some key stops. He was clutch in the fourth quarter with 13 points to lead the Bulls in the fourth quarter. Hopefully, we get back Lonzo Ball in the rematch on Wednesday.

Get Healthy Atlanta

Atlanta tonight was without many players, including young star John Collins. Trae and the Hawks will try to get their revenge on the Bulls to start their road trip on Wednesday. They have now lost their eighth game in a row at home.

Up Next

Both teams will face each other on Wednesday, but now Chicago will host Atlanta.

Atlanta will start their six game road trip against Chicago on Wednesday.

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