Hawks fall to Bulls 112-108 in return from All-Star break

The Atlanta Hawks returned to action out of the All-Star break with a tough road game vs. the Chicago Bulls on Thursday night. The Hawks were unable to pick up the win in Chicago, losing to the Bulls by a final score of 112-108.

Atlanta struggled tremendously out of the gates, falling down 10-0 inside the first three minutes of action. They did rally a bit from there however, and trailed just 24-19 heading into the second quarter.

The Hawks got their offense going a bit more in the second, scoring 31 points in the quarter and pulling within two of the lead going into the half. Chicago led just 52-50 at the break despite the slow start by Atlanta and 22 first-half points from DeMar DeRozan.

Trae Young had eight points and a game-high six assists in the opening half, while Clint Capela had 10 points and 10 rebounds heading into the third.

The Hawks took their first lead of the game on a three-point by Kevin Huerter with 6:30 left in the third. De’Andre Hunter left the game with an illness, forcing the Hawks to deploy Kevin Knox for some forward minutes. Atlanta and Chicago went to the fourth quarter tied after the Hawks outscored the Bulls for the second straight quarter.

The Hawks came up short after a hard-fought fourth quarter, losing 112-108 as they were out-executed down the stretch. Young finished just 3-of-17 from the floor in the loss, with 14 points and 10 assists. Danilo Gallinari finished with 26 points, while Bogdan Bogdanovic had 27 to lead the Hawks in the defeat.

DeMar DeRozan finished with 37 points for the Bulls, with Zach LaVine adding 20 points.

The Hawks will be back in action Saturday when they will host the Toronto Raptors.

Stay tuned.