Bulls at Hawks
THE STORY: The Chicago Bulls are making a strong bid to be the best team in the NBA, picking up their sixth straight victory with a 97-83 win over the Orlando Magic on Friday. The Bulls weathered a fourth-quarter surge from the Magic as they were victorious to open a stretch of seven games in nine days. They'll face an Atlanta Hawks club Saturday that had to put in extra work to snap a two-game losing skid. Atlanta edged the Charlotte Bobcats 102-96 in overtime Friday - its second straight overtime game after going three additional periods in a loss to the Miami Heat on Thursday. The Hawks are playing their fifth game in six days Saturday. Chicago has won seven of the last 10 meetings with Atlanta, including taking last year’s Eastern Conference quarterfinal matchup in six games. The Bulls and Hawks met just four days ago, with Chicago winning 76-74 at the United Center.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Comcast Sports Chicago, SportSouth
ABOUT THE BULLS (7-1): Since scoring 30 points against the Hawks on Jan. 3, Bulls point guard Derrick Rose has stumbled a bit offensively. The reigning NBA Most Valuable Player is shooting 42 percent from the field but hasn’t been able to find his range from outside in the two games since facing Atlanta. Rose was 0 for 6 from beyond the arc against the Magic and is just 1 for 9 in the last two outings. Rose’s 3-point shooting has always been considered the weakest part of his game; however, he put that argument to rest by shooting a respectable 33.2 percent from deep last season.
ABOUT THE HAWKS (5-3): Atlanta could be running on empty Saturday – the final game of a back-to-back-to-back set. The Hawks blew an 11-point, fourth-quarter lead to the Bobcats, finding themselves in overtime for the second straight game. Four starters played more than 40 minutes. Joe Johnson scored 14 points in nearly 43 minutes of play Friday, and leads the Hawks in minutes at 36.6 per game.
BUZZER BEATERS:
1. Chicago is off to its best start since the 1996-97 season when the team won 12 of its first 13 games.
2. Hawks reserve swingman Tracy McGrady sat out Friday but is expected to play against Chicago. The veteran is averaging 10.6 points to start the season.
3. Bulls reserve shooting guard Richard Hamilton sat out Friday’s game with a sore groin. He’s averaging 12.4 points per game and his status is unknown for Saturday.