Five Takeaways from Bulls Win Over Hawks

Listing five important takeaways from the Chicago Bulls 110-108 win over the Atlanta Hawks.

Ten days after the Atlanta Hawks defeated the Chicago Bulls on a last-second shot, Chicago returned the favor with a buzzer-beater of their own. After coughing up an 18-point lead, Chicago hung around long enough for Ayo Dosonmu to make a putback layup as time expired.

Atlanta snatched defeat from the jaws of victory and is now 16-16. Chicago, a team battered by injuries and drama, picked up a much-needed win to improve to 13-18. Below are our five biggest takeaways from last night.

Trae Young

Trae Young is officially out of his shooting slump. Young poured in 29 points during the first half before finishing the game with 34 points, including 7-14 made three-pointers. If the offensive outburst wasn't enough, Young has shot 46.2% from deep over the last three games.

Onyeka Okongwu

With Clint Capela out due to a right calf strain, Onyeka Okongwu is required to do more on the court. The third-year player did that last night. Okongwu tallied 18 points and 11 rebounds in 40 minutes of action.

Atlanta has a glaring weakness in the frontcourt. Frank Kaminsky played 4:44 (shout-out Jay-Z), and Jalen Johnson logged just 4:03 of time on the court. Those minutes are unsustainable, and Hawks coach Nate McMillan must trust his bench more than that.

Blown Lead

After erasing an 18-point deficit, Atlanta seemed in control of the game. Atlanta led 100-92 with 7:57 left in regulation, only for Chicago to close off the game with an 18-8 run led by DeMar DeRozan.

Last night's blown lead was not as egregious as the handful of double-digit leads Atlanta has lost this season. However, it does point to poor game management. Atlanta has two All-Star point guards and a former point guard as head coach. How does this keep happening?

Challenge

With 3:18 remaining in the game, DeMar DeRozan was called for a shooting foul on Trae Young. It would have been DeRozan's sixth and final foul, and Young would have shot three free throws (Atlanta didn't miss from the charity stripe last night).

However, Bulls coach Billy Donovan successfully challenged the call and undoubtedly saved the game. It was a pivotal moment that helped buoy Chicago when they were on the ropes.

Uncertain Future

Sports, like life, are often poetic. Oberseveres do not have to search too hard to find examples on the hardwood that are analogous to life. So it felt oddly fitting that Atlanta lost on a buzzer-beater and fell to .500 just hours after their team president stepped aside.

Travis Schlenk was the architect of Atlanta's rebuild and earned an unassailable reputation in the league. Now at 34 years old, Landry Fields will lead the front office. The former NBA player has his work cut out for him as the team is floundering, and the ownership group doesn't want to spend money to fix it. For the first time in years, the future is uncertain in Atlanta.