Atlanta Hawks hand the Chicago Bulls their fourth consecutive loss, win 102-100

It was a nail-biter, but the Hawks managed to come away with the 102-100 win.

Chicago got off to a a quick 8-0 start in the first three minutes of the game, before Jeff Teague was able to get the Hawks on the board. Mike Budenholzer had seen enough after the Bulls went up 12-3, and called timeout to slow the early bleeding.

The Hawks would answer with an 8-2 run, but cold shooting kept them down for much of the first quarter, and would find themselves down nine at the end of the first, 31-22. Pau Gasol had a huge first quarter for the Bulls, totaling 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting.

The second quarter started off with much of the same, just a cold shooting Hawks squad. After looking like they might fall down big quickly, the Hawks were able to trim the Bulls lead to 40-37 with just over six minutes remaining in the second quarter. Dennis Schröder provided great minutes off the bench, and had eight early points. The Hawks would take their first lead of the game at 41-40.

Looking much more alive, the Hawks finished off the second quarter strong, on a 26-6 run. Paul Millsap had a cool seven points to lead the Hawks in the quarter. Defensively, the Hawks were able to shut down Pau Gasol, as he did not score in the quarter after going off in the first.

It appeared that the Hawks would carry the same type of performance into the third. They got off to a hot start, but then things slowed down, and the Bulls were able to keep pace with Atlanta. The teams went back and forth for much of the early half of the third quarter, but the Hawks were able to maintain anywhere from a 5-7 point lead. The Hawks were up 67-57 with five and half minutes to go in the third, their biggest lead of the night.

Derrick Rose got a technical foul after continuously berating an official. Jeff Teague continued his hot third quarter for the Hawks, helping them stretch out their lead to 72-59. Teague would finish the quarter with 14 points on 5-of-8 shooting, and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. The Hawks took an 80-71 lead heading into the fourth quarter.

The two teams kept pace from the second and third quarters, until a Jimmy Butler three-pointer and a Pau Gasol slam dunk made it a 90-86 game with under five minutes remaining. The United Center crowd was as loud as it had been all night. After trading baskets and a few possessions, Aaron Brooks sank a three to make it a 92-91 game with under three minutes to go.

Chicago tied the game after Aaron Brooks hit a tough, contested layup. Tied at 93-93 with just over a minute remaining, the pressure had never been bigger on the Hawks. A Kent Bazemore free throw, complemented with a defensive stop and a pair of Sefolosha free throws gave the Hawks a 96-93 lead.

Another stop and massive leaping rebound by Kent Bazemore led to another pair of free throws, these by Jeff Teague, giving the Hawks a 98-93 lead with 22 seconds. The Bulls would not die, as Jimmy Butler shot a three, drawing the foul on Paul Millsap, and made the shot. A made free throw made it a 98-97 game with 19.6 seconds remaining.

The Bulls sent Kyle Korver to the line, who knocked down both of his free throws to give the Hawks a 100-97 lead with 13.6 remaining in the game. A Mike Dunleavy missed layup led to a pair of Jeff Teague free throws, and that was all the Hawks needed to seal the victory.