Andre Drummond, DeMar DeRozan's Big Nights Lead the Bulls Past the Hawks

Atlanta drops to 12-18 with their loss in Chicago

Trae Young was going for his record-setting eighth straight game of at least 30 points and 10 assists, Jalen Johnson was making his return after a month-long absence, and the Hawks were looking to snap its two-game losing streak. 

Thanks to a big double-double from Andre Drummond and some clutch points from DeMar DeRozan, the Bulls defeated Atlanta in Chicago and now the Hawks are 12-18 and losers of three straight games. The season continues to trend in the wrong direction and with each loss, the trade rumors are sure to grow louder. 

After having some questions coming into the game, both Young and Johnson were available to play. The Hawks have had a lot of issues on the defensive end of the floor without Johnson and while you could see his impact on the floor tonight, it was not enough to overcome Chicago. 

Young finished with 21 points and 13 assists on 6-17 shooting. Bogdanovic was the only other player on Atlanta with over 20 points, finishing with a team-high 22. Johnson scored 10 points, had nine rebounds, and also had four assists in his return to action. 

JALEN JOHNSON IS 𝘽𝘼𝘾𝙆 😤#HawksHighlight pic.twitter.com/WxPaf0gClD

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) December 27, 2023

Drummond had a massive game for Chicago. He finished with 24 points and 25 rebounds, nearing his career-high. He was great at getting second-chance opportunities for Chicago and neither Capela or Onyeka Okongwu had an effective night at keeping him off the glass. DeRozan had 25 points in the game, including 19 in the second half. He is one of the best clutch players in the NBA and came up big in the 4th quarter for Chicago tonight. 

Atlanta shot 46.1% from the field and 28.3% from three for the game. Chicago shot 45.7% from the floor and 28% from three. 

The Hawks started Young, Dejounte Murray, Saddiq Bey, Johnson, and Clint Capela. 

Without Nikola Vucevic and still missing Zach LaVine, the Bulls started Coby White, Alex Caruso, DeRozan, Patrick Williams, and Drummond. 

Andre Drummond vs the Hawks / David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Chicago did a terrific job against the Hawks in the first quarter. Atlanta shot under 30% and scored only 17 points. Chicago led 28-17 after the first. Johnson scored the first four points of the game for the Hawks, but he was the lone bright spot. Seth Lundy, one of the Hawks's young players, was one of the first players off the bench, but injured his ankle in the first quarter and did not return. 

The 2nd quarter was completely different. Atlanta dominated the quarter, outscoring the Bulls 39-22 and it looked like the Hawks might be ready to start pulling away. The Bulls were struggling to shoot and DeRozan had as poor of a half as you see normally from him. 

𝖠 𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗍𝗅𝖾 𝗉𝗂𝖼𝗄-𝖺𝗇𝖽-𝗋𝗈𝗅𝗅 𝗉𝖾𝗋𝖿𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 pic.twitter.com/hzFOk3yXmC

— Bally Sports: Hawks (@HawksOnBally) December 27, 2023

The second half was a different story. 

It was back and forth for the second half, but the reasons the Bulls won the game in the half were clear. The Hawks did not execute on the defensive end, Capela continued to have his worst game of the month, and the Hawks could not hit a three-point shot. They had opportunities to win the game, but they could not hit the clutch shots and DeRozan did. Caruso also made some big plays on the defensive end as well. Chicago closed the game out and won 118-113, sending the Hawks to their third straight loss and dropping them to 12-18. 

The Hawks return to Atlanta on Friday to face the Kings. 

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