Atlanta Falls to 0-4 in Summer League With 103-99 Loss to Chicago

Atlanta finishes up Summer League against the Knicks tomorrow

Jul 12, 2024; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Atlanta Hawks guard Keaton Wallace (22) shoots the ball against Washington Wizards forward John Butler Jr. (19) during the first half at Thomas & Mack Center. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports / Lucas Peltier-USA TODAY Sports

The Hawks were going to be without No. 1 pick Zaccharie Risacher again tonight, but they found a way to hang around with the Chicago Bulls. Like the game vs the Lakers on Wednesday, the Hawks lost a close game at the end and now the head into tomorrow's Summer League finale against the Knicks with an 0-4 record.

It was not a great start for the Hawks, as they were down by double-digits for much of the first half, but they had a great third quarter and rode that momentum into the fourth. There were opportunities to win the game in the end, but the Hawks could not cash in.

It was another great showing for Keaton Wallace, who had 22 points. Windler had 17 points on 4-7 shooting and Jonathan Bowden had a really good game off the bench with 18 points. The Hawks shot 50% from the field and 46% from three.

DJ Steward had a tremendous performance for the Bulls, scoring 35 points and shooting 8-14 from three. Julian Phillips had 17 points, Adama Sanogo had 17 points and nine rebounds, and Matas Buzelis had 11 points off the bench, despite shooting 4-17 from the field.

The big issue for the Hawks in this loss was turnovers. Atlanta committed 26 turnovers compared to the Bulls 19 and despite shooting well from the field, that can be pointed to as the reason for the loss.

Let's recap tonight's game.

Here was the starting lineup for the Hawks tonight vs Chicago.

G- Keaton Wallace

G- Dylan Windler

F- Moses Wood

F- E.J. Liddell

C- Rob Baker

On Wednesday vs the Lakers, the Hawks trailed 12-2 at the start of the game and tonight, they followed a similar pattern. Chicago got off to a 12-4 start with six points from Adama Sonogo and then Wallace hit a three to make it 12-7. A couple of three-pointers later, Chicago had an 18-7 lead at the first timeout of the game with 5:08 left in the 1st quarter. Wallace had five of the first seven points for the Hawks.

It looked like the Bulls were going to pull away early, but the Hawks had a 10-2 run to end the quarter and only trailed 24-17 at the end of the first quarter. Wallace led the way for the Hawks with five points and Atlanta shot 41% from the field and 22% from three. Chicago shot 41% from the field and 36% from three. DJ Steward and Adama Sanogo combined for 20 of the Bulls 24 points in the first quarter.

The Bulls remained in control in the second quarter, despite various attempts from the Hawks to get back in it with runs. With the Bulls up 44-30 with only a few minutes to go in the second half, the Hawks went on a 7-0 run to cut the lead to seven points, but Chicago quikcly responded. For Atlanta, Wallace was the only player that could get anything going on offense. The Bulls had Sanogo, Steward, Julian Phillips and Matas Buzelis scoring for them. Chicago led 58-42 at the half.

Wallace was the only player for the Hawks in double digits with 10 points and the Hawks shot 50% from the field and 40% from three. The big difference in this game in the first half was the turnover differential. Atlanta committed 13 turnovers compared to Chicago's six.

The Bulls shot 50% from the field and 45% from three. Steward had 14 points and four assists, Sanogo had 14 points and five rebounds, and Phillips had 12 points. Buzelis, the No. 11 pick in this year's draft, scored nine points off the bench.

On Wednesday, the Hawks had a huge third quarter where they shot the ball well and that is how they started the third quarter tonight vs the Bulls. Early on in the quarter, the Bulls got the lead up to 21, but the Hawks had a run in them. Atlanta went on a 12-2 run to make it 65-54 and finally got the lead under ten at the 5:20 mark in the third quarter. The third-quarter run in this game was sparked by Windler and Jonathan Bowden off the bench. It was good to see Bowden bounce back from a rough game vs the Lakers on Wednesday.

The Hawks cut the lead to 75-68 at the end of the third and both Windler (14) and Bowden (10) were in double digits. This was despite the Hawks still having a huge issue with turnovers, with the Hawks up to over 20.

Atlanta finally grabbed a lead in the 4th quarter of the game. A 15-1 run from the Hawks was punctuated by a poster dunk from Nick Ongenda.

Nick Ongenda poster 😳 pic.twitter.com/cmIcDBumNA

— Atlanta Hawks (@ATLHawks) July 19, 2024

After a rough first half, the Hawks were surging and had all of the momentum in the game, but the Bulls were not going to go away. It was a tight back-and-forth between the two teams and the Bulls led by two 89-87 with 2:35 left in the game.

After the timeout, Steward hit a three to get him to 31 points. After that, the Hawks turned the ball over, but were able to get a stop. Windler hit a three to tighten the game up to 92-90 and then the Bulls turned it over because of a backcourt violation. Windler attempted a three to get the lead, but missed, but the Hawks got bailed out when Chicago committed an offensive foul with 57.7 seconds left.

The Hawks had a chance to tie or take the lead, but Wallace comitted an offensive foul, leading to another Steward basket to extend the Bulls lead 94-90. After that basket, Wallace hit a three to cut the lead to one and then Steward missed a basket, giving the Hawks a huge chance to take the lead. They took advantage of that when Bowden hit a three to take the lead with 4.5 seconds left. It looked like the go ahead basket to win the game for the Hawks.

The Hawks committed a foul on the ensuing possession and Steward hit a pair of free throws to tie the game. Atlanta had a great look at the basket to win at the buzzer, but they missed and the game went to overtime.

The overtime rules in Summer League are different. The first team to score seven or more points wins the game, so the first team to 103 points was the winner. The Bulls and Hawks both hit threes on their first possessions and then Buzelis hit a pair of free throws. Chicago only needed one more basket to win the game. After an Atlanta miss, Chicago called a timeout to set something up to try and win. They got Steward the ball and he nailed the basket and the Bulls won. The Hawks fell to 0-4 in Summer League with only one game remaining.