Chicago guard Matas Buzelis made seven three-pointers and scored 28 points, and the Bulls scored a season-high 152 points. But they needed every one of them to beat the Hawks 152-150 on Sunday night in Atlanta. It was only the eighth time ever that both teams scored 150 or more in regulation.
If you blinked, you missed it. Blink twice and you missed even more. That's how fast the Chicago Bulls were scoring Sunday night, putting on quite a show against the Atlanta Hawks.
The Bulls beat the Hawks 152-150 at State Farm Arena in Atlanta. Nine Bulls scored in double figures, led by Matas Buzelis with 28 points. Chicago scored 83 points in the first half alone, a season high for a half. The 152 was also their most all year.
It was only the eighth game in NBA history that featured both teams scoring at least 150 points that ended in regulation, according to ESPN Research.
With the win, their third straight, the Bulls are now 13-15 on the season. Jalen Johnson had 36 points for the Hawks, who are 15-15 after their third straight loss. Atlanta has lost seven of nine. Trae Young had 35, a season-high.
But the Atlanta defense was nonexistent.
"It's kind of tough winning games when you give up 80 points in the first half," Johnson said. "It's kind of embarrassing in a sense. ... Hopefully we cut down on some of the things we're doing."
Here's the game story from Bulls Roundtable publisher Gavin Dorsey.
The Bulls made 20 three-pointers on the night, with Buzelis hitting 7-of-8 from deep. Seven different players had a three. Atlanta did even better, making 23 three-pointers. Young made 7-of-8 from deep, and reserve Vit Krejci made 6-of-10 threes.
“I looked at it at halftime, and it was 83 points, it was crazy,” Buzelis told reporters after the game. He missed only one corner three-pointer and was 10-for-11 overall. “Even that one felt good.”
This one came right down to the wire, too. Johnson’s three-pointer with five seconds remaining cut the Bulls' lead to 151-150 lead. Buzelis made one of two free throws — the Bulls missed 13 free throws on the night — with 4.2 seconds remaining before Young missed a last-second jumper.
Young was making his second start in three games after missing 21 games with a right MCL sprain. Coach Quin Snyder said Young will need a continued “acclimation process” to be ready to play back-to-back games.
The Bulls and Hawks play again in Atlanta on Tuesday night. Game time is 7:30 p.m. ET.
Both teams are at the bottom of the playoff chase at the moment, Atlanta checking in at No. 9 and the Bulls at No. 10. The Bulls have won three straight — the other two wins were over the Cleveland Cavaliers — but this came after a stretch where they had a seven-game losing streak and won just three of 14 games.
The Hawks are hoping to get better with Young back. They've only won twice since Nov. 30. Their next three games are at home, angainst the Bulls on Tuesday, the Miami Heat on Friday and the New York Knicks on Saturday.