The Atlanta Hawks will try to bounce back from a disappointing last-minute loss when they host the slumping Chicago Bulls on Saturday night in the second game of a back-to-back set.
The Hawks, who allowed 40 points in the opening quarter, erased a 24-point deficit against the Detroit Pistons on Friday but lost 122-121 on a bucket by Cade Cunningham with 8.5 seconds remaining. Atlanta had a chance to win at the buzzer, but Onyeka Okongwu’s shot under the basket was blocked by Cunningham.
The Bulls have lost four straight games, most recently 135-119 to the Minnesota Timberwolves on Thursday.
This will be the first of four meetings between the Bulls and Hawks this season. Chicago won two of three against Atlanta last year. The Bulls have lost the past two games in Atlanta.
This will be Atlanta’s third back-to-back of the season. The Hawks were swept in the first and split the second.
In Friday’s loss, Atlanta wasted a 35-point, 13-assist effort from Trae Young, who is averaging 24.9 points and 11.1 assists a game. Jalen Johnson, who is averaging 19 points and 10.4 rebounds, had 20 points and nine rebounds in the loss.
Dyson Daniels had a career-high seven steals against the Pistons, giving him 24 this season. The seven steals are the most in a single game in the NBA this season and the most for an Atlanta player since Josh Smith had seven against Dallas on Feb. 26, 2010.
“I mean, that’s what I do, just active hands, getting deflections, trying to make it tough,” Daniels said.
No. 1 overall draft pick Zaccharie Risacher had a poor shooting night on Friday and scored seven points. The youngster was coming off a career-best 33-point performance against the New York Knicks on Wednesday.
The Bulls, who traded star DeMar DeRozan over the summer, have few household names on their roster.
“Regardless of personnel or who is on the floor for us, our guys play hard, play the right way, play together, play unselfish,” Chicago guard Josh Giddey said after the latest loss. “When you put all that together, it’s a tough team to play against. We love what we’ve got in this locker room, we believe we have enough, and we really do believe that.”
Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic scored 25 points against Minnesota and has at least 20 points in four games. Over his past four games, Vucevic is averaging 22.5 points on 69.8 percent shooting from the field and 50 percent on 3-pointers.
Vucevic consistently has been a tough matchup for the Hawks. In 42 career games against them, Vucevic is averaging 17.4 points on 51.6 percent shooting, 11.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists. He has a double-double in seven of his past 10 games against Atlanta.
Coby White is averaging 19.6 points a game; Giddey averages 13.6 points, 6.6 rebounds and a team-leading 7.0 assists.
The Hawks continue to play without DeAndre Hunter (right knee soreness), Bogdan Bogdanovic (right hamstring), Kobe Bufkin (right shoulder) and Vit Krejci (right adductor strain). For Chicago, Lonzo Ball (right wrist sprain) is out while Zach LaVine (right adductor strain) is listed on the injury report as questionable.
–Field Level Media