Preview: Hawks at Bulls

[February 10, 2016]  Four wins away from playing for the NBA championship last season, the Atlanta Hawks may be on the verge of dismantling key parts of this season’s squad as the Feb. 18 trade deadline looms. Atlanta travels to visit the Chicago Bulls on Wednesday, and after losing back-to-back games to Orlando, media reports surfaced Tuesday that point guard Jeff Teague, shooting guard Kyle Korver and center Al Horford could be moved before the deadline.

The latest loss on Monday was particularly frustrating for a team that won 60 games and a division title a season ago, with Atlanta blowing an 18-point home lead late in the third quarter in losing 117-110 in overtime. “We’ve had this problem all year where we get up and we give up leads,” Horford lamented to reporters afterward. The Bulls do not look like a serious playoff contender at the moment either, but at least Chicago is home after going 2-5 on a seven-game road trip, capped with a 108-91 loss on Monday at Charlotte. “We have to put this trip behind us,” Bulls first-year coach Fred Hoiberg admitted to the media late Monday. “It took a toll on our guys.” Derrick Rose was a late scratch due to soreness while Jimmy Butler did not play for the third consecutive game with a left knee strain that will keep him sidelined for at least the next three weeks.

TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), CSN Chicago

ABOUT THE HAWKS (30-24): Atlanta ranked seventh after Monday’s game in points allowed per game (99.8) but surrendered 76 points in the second half and overtime Monday. Teague scored 21 points and has reached 20 points four times in the past seven games, averaging 19.7 points on 50.5 percent shooting from the field. Horford hit 12-of-18 shots in scoring a game-high 27 points in Monday's defeat, and is shooting 50 percent from the field while averaging 15 points on the season.

ABOUT THE BULLS (27-24): Chicago will enjoy being back home but is far from healthy, as Nikola Mirotic missed the road trip after surgery to have his appendix removed. Rose is averaging 15.9 points and scored 20.8 points in his first four games in February despite shooting 37.3 percent from the field. Pau Gasol recorded his 29th double-double of the season in Monday’s loss, finishing with 22 points and 10 rebounds while falling three assists shy of a triple-double.

BUZZER BEATERS

1. Chicago G E’Twaun Moore is shooting 64.7 percent from 3-point range in his past four games, averaging 15.3 points.

2. Korver’s next 3-pointer will be his 1,831st and will push him past Chauncey Billups into eighth place on the all-time NBA/ABA list.

3. Butler (22.9 points) and Mirotic (10.6) have been ruled out Wednesday.

PREDICTION: Bulls 105, Hawks 96

[© 2016 Thomson Reuters. All rights reserved.]

Copyright 2016 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.