CHICAGO – With the Bulls (39-21) edging them out in the final minute, the Hawks (28-31) suffered a 112-108 loss Thursday in their first game back from the All-Star break.
Below are some takeaways from the loss:
1. The Hawks started slow, but fought their way back into the game and entered the fourth quarter tied at 82. They trailed by eight with 5:07 to play, but got some clutch plays from Bogdan Bogdanovic and Danilo Gallinari to take the lead 105-104 at the 2:45 mark.
Up three with 1:59 left, DeMar DeRozan made a jump shot, Trae Young missed a shot on the other end and DeRozan hit a go-ahead fadeaway plus a free throw to put the Bulls up 110-108, and the Hawks couldn’t respond. DeRozan scored 16 points in the first quarter and roasted the Hawks with a game-high 37 points, plus six rebounds, three assists and a steal. The Bulls now own the best record in the East at 39-21.
“Too much DeRozan,” Hawks coach Nate McMillan said of the final minute. “He’s been playing this way all season long and that last play that he made, the and-1, basically he’s coming down in transition and we wanted to try to get two on him, but it happened so fast he was able to get to his spot, get to his shot and knock it down and finish for them.”
2. This was an uncharacteristically rough shooting night for Young, who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds but shot 3-for-17 from the floor, going 0-for-5 and 8-for-11 from the line, with five turnovers. Young was 0-for-5 and went scoreless in the fourth quarter.
“It just felt like I couldn’t get a shot to go and I was pressing it and every shot I was really thinking about it and not just shooting and could feel it… I’m really mad I let my teammates down because we fought really hard and still had a chance to win the game but if I shoot light that, it’s tough for us to win,” Young said.
3. Bogdanovic, who was on a tear before the All-Star break after moving to a bench role, continued his hot streak with a team-high 27 points, five rebounds and three assists. He finished as a plus-14. He and Gallinari provided the bulk of the offensive firepower for the Hawks, with Gallinari adding 26 points and nine rebounds, finishing as a plus-1. After the loss, Bogdanovic emphasized the need for better late-game execution. Up three with 1:34 left, Young missed a 3-pointer, Gallinari grabbed a rebound, then Bogdanovic took a quick 3-pointer, they nabbed another rebound but committed a shot-clock violation. Then came DeRozan’s pull-up, a missed layup by Young and DeRozan’s go-ahead fadeaway. Plus, the Hawks only made 18 of 27 free-throws (66.7%).
“We have to execute at the end,” Bogdanovic said. “We shouldn’t miss this many free-throws, starting with me... Small details against good teams decide the game.”
4. This marked the fourth game power forward John Collins missed due to a right foot strain, an injury that had bothered him on and off and he re-tweaked in the loss to the Spurs Feb. 11. Collins told the AJC Tuesday that he was feeling better, but the plan was for him to get more rest and heal before coming back. Gallinari started in Collins’ absence. In the third quarter, the Hawks got more short-handed, announcing that De’Andre Hunter would not return to the game due to an illness. Hunter had played 13 minutes, picking up three fouls, before leaving the game. Kevin Knox had a few good minutes of playing time, with both Hunter and Collins out. After the game, McMillan didn’t have an update of Hunter, saying he was feeling sick at halftime.
5. In this final stretch of the regular season, in the East’s No. 10 spot and hoping to climb in the standings with just 23 games remaining, the Hawks have a razor-thin margin for error. Starting out losing their first game out of the All-Star break is a tough pill to swallow, even if it’s against the top team in the East, given they had a three-point lead with 1:59 to play. They’ll have to rebound quickly, with a tough next few games against the Raptors, Celtics and Bulls again.
Stat of the game: 18-for-27 (or 66.7%, what the Hawks shot from the free-throw line, despite averaging 80.4% from the line this season)
Star of the game: DeRozan (had a game-high 37 points and hit the go-ahead fadeaway shot with 15.1 seconds to play)
Quotable: “It comes down to making plays and we didn’t make those plays to win the game.” (McMillan on the Hawks stumbling at the end of the fourth quarter)
