Hawks at Bulls
The Atlanta Hawks steamrolled Chicago for three quarters on Friday and look to defeat the host Bulls for the third time this season when the teams square off on Wednesday. Chicago's reserves played a dominating fourth quarter to significantly close the gap as Atlanta claimed a 102-93 decision.
The Bulls were so bad in last week's loss that All-Star swingman Jimmy Butler ripped his club's performance while shooting guard Dwyane Wade tweeted out an apology for the "AWFUL!!!" showing. Chicago rebounded with back-to-back victories and made it back to .500 with Tuesday's 100-92 triumph over Orlando. Atlanta is coming off a 115-105 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday, and forward Paul Millsap said the team didn't play with "a sense of urgency" in the first half. "The pace could have been pushed a little more. We could have moved the basketball a little more," Millsap told reporters. "We could have screened for each other a little more. We could have played with more pace. Then we would have found a good rhythm. We waited too late to do it."
TV: 8 p.m. ET, FSN Southeast (Atlanta), CSN Chicago
ABOUT THE HAWKS (26-19): Atlanta dug itself a 24-point hole at halftime against the Clippers, a fact even more disappointing with Los Angeles missing point guard Chris Paul and power forward Blake Griffin. "That was the tell-all difference in the game," small forward Kent Bazemore told reporters. "They came out and threw the first punch. We were right there knocking on the door. ... They kept their cool, made big shots and got a big win on the road." Bazemore matched his season high of 25 points and is averaging 20.5 over the last two games.
ABOUT THE BULLS (23-23): Wade contributed 21 points, seven rebounds and seven steals in Tuesday's victory over the Magic despite missing his first six shots as part of a 9-of-23 performance. "I've been in his league a long time and taken a lot of shots," Wade told reporters. "I could be 0-for-19 and I'd still be putting it up, thinking I'll hit the next one. It wasn't pretty, but we found a way to get it done." Wade is averaging 25.5 points over his last two games after playing poorly against the Hawks on Friday, when he matched his season low of four points on 2-of-10 shooting.
BUZZER BEATERS
1. The Hawks have won the last six meetings.
2. Chicago PG Michael Carter-Williams was removed from his starting role and didn't play against the Magic. Second-year pro Jerian Grant is the new starter and veteran Rajon Rondo served as the backup.
3. Atlanta SG Tim Hardaway Jr. is 6-of-20 shooting over his last two games.