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 Center Al Horford did a little bit of everything, scoring,
rebounding and even leading fast breaks, to lift Atlanta to an
exciting 93-86 win over the Bulls on Monday night at Philips Arena.
Horford finished with 21 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and
point guard Jeff Teague made two free throws with 10.8 seconds to
play to seal the Hawks' 10th win in 11 games.
Guard Jimmy Butler led the Bulls with 22 points, and Rose added 14
points and eight assists as Chicago saw its three-game winning
streak snapped.
"He was great, awesome," Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said of Butler.
"You can't say enough about him. He's old school. Last night, he was
not feeling well, and he said, 'Don't cut my minutes.' I respect
that."
Atlanta (17-7) took a 73-64 lead into the fourth quarter, but was
forced to fight off multiple Chicago charges. The Bulls scored the
first seven points of the fourth quarter, with backup point guard
Aaron Brooks splashing a deep 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 73-71
with 9:12 to play.
 The Bulls (15-9) stayed close, but the Hawks always had an answer,
usually from Horford, who handed out back-to-back assists during a
run that had Atlanta up 85-78 with 3:35 to play.
A Taj Gibson dunk off a feed from Rose cut the lead to 87-84, but
Horford answered with a mid-range jumper with 57 seconds left.
The Hawks led for the majority of an action-packed first half and
took a 50-44 lead into intermission.
"We talked about wanting to have great pace coming out tonight,"
coach Mike Budenholzer said.
Rose and Teague went after each other in the first half. Both made
one-on-one plays and also set up teammates. Rose had eight points
and five assists, and Teague had six points and four assists in the
first half.
Teague finished with 12 points and seven assists, and guard Kyle
Korver hit four 3-pointers for his 12 points. Forward Paul Millsap
had 17 points for Atlanta.
"Contributions up and down the roster on both ends of the court
really allowed us to beat a very good team," Atlanta coach Mike
Budenholzer said.
The Hawks' bench outscored the Bulls' reserves 24-11.
Rose has now played in 11 straight games since missing a four-game
stretch in late November. This was the second time he's played on
back-to-back nights this season. He had his first 30-point
performance since returning from a torn ACL in last week's win over
the Portland Trail Blazers.
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"Every step is important," Rose said. "Tonight is already out of
mind. It's on to the next game. I just want to keep it moving. Shots
that I normally hit were just flat. They just didn't have any lift
to them. I can guarantee you the next game that won't happen."
The Bulls host the New York Knicks on Thursday.
Chicago outrebounded the Hawks 57-40 and had 17 second-chance points
to the Hawks' two, despite missing All-Star center Joakim Noah, who
was out with an ankle injury.
"I thought our guys played hard," Thibodeau added. "It thought the
rebounding was really good. You have to give the Hawks credit. They
made big plays."
Atlanta improved to 12-2 at home this season, before heading out on
a difficult three-game road trip that begins Wednesday in Cleveland.
"It was very important," Atlanta forward DeMarre Carroll said. "We
had to come out and be aggressive and match their physicality
because they have a very physical team. We just tried to take the
fight to them."
NOTES: Chicago C Joakim Noah (right ankle) was held out for a fourth
consecutive game. ... Atlanta C Pero Antic missed his third straight
game with flu-like symptoms. ... Hawks G Kyle Korver had made 44
consecutive free throws entering Monday's game. He needed three more
without a miss to break the franchise record set by Tom McMillen in
1978-79. ... Chicago rookie F Doug McDermott underwent arthroscopic
knee surgery Saturday and is expected to miss four-to-six weeks. ...
Celebrities Chris Tucker and Ludacris were in attendance at Philips
Arena. There also was a Santa Claus sighting. ... The Bulls won all
four meetings with Hawks last season and had won the last six
overall before Monday's game. ... Chicago entered the game 11-3 on
the road, the best away record in the Eastern Conference.
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