Bulls 93, Hawks 73
The Chicago Bulls came out on a mission and did not let up, getting 19 points and 12 assists from Derrick Rose and clinching a spot in the Eastern Conference finals with a 93-73 victory over the host Atlanta Hawks in Game 6 of the semifinals on Thursday.
Carlos Boozer added 23 points on 10-of-16 shooting and added 10 rebounds while Luol Deng scored 13 points for the top-seeded Bulls, who will have home court advantage when they face the No. 2 seed Miami Heat in the East finals starting Sunday.
Chicago left no doubts in Game 6, shooting over 63 percent in the first quarter to jump out to a 10-point lead and never letting the Hawks within eight points the rest of the way. The Bulls did it in an unselfish fashion, recording 34 assists on 41 total field goals.
They put it away in the third quarter, extending the lead to 70-53 when they ended the frame on a 14-8 burst.
Atlanta could not do anything against the Chicago defense, shooting just 36.5 percent - including 1 of 11 from 3-point range.
Joe Johnson scored 19 points and Josh Smith added 18 for the Hawks.