Al Horford leads Atlanta Hawks to 83-80 win over the Chicago Bulls
Al Horford continued his strong play off the bench with a career-high 31 points, as the Atlanta Hawks held on for a narrow 83-80 win over the Chicago Bulls, at Philips Arena on Wednesday night.
The win meant Atlanta bounced back from a 100-90 defeat to the Denver Nuggets in their previous match.
Horford also contributed 16 rebounds and two steals, including a jam with 29 seconds remaining, to give Atlanta their first lead in the game. Guard Joe Johnson and Jamal Crawford posted 12 points each for Atlanta, who now have six straight home wins in the
series with the Bulls.
Forward Marvin Williams scored 10 points and pulled down four rebounds for the Hawks, who now have a 37-24 record for the 2010-11 season. Luol Deng added a team-high 15 points for Chicago, who saw their three-game winning streak snapped.
Joakim Noah had 13 points and 12 rebounds while Derrick Rose had 12 points and 12 assists for the Bulls, who lost their 18th game of the season. The Hawks played the game without forward Josh Smith, who sprained the medial collateral ligament
in his right knee on Monday.
Match Analysis
The Bulls began the contest with some great offensive intensity as they got nice shots from Keith Bogans, who scored all of his eight points in the opening quarter. Chicago held the hosts to 31 percent shooting from the field in the first to take a 28-19
advantage after 12 minutes.
The Hawks offence could never find their rhythm in the second quarter, allowing the Bulls to extend their lead to 50-33 at half time. The resilient Atlanta got their shooting touch back in the third quarter, as they used a 6-0 run to end the quarter just
five points behind at 63-58, heading into the final stanza.
Horford played a vital role in cutting Atlanta's first half 17-point deficit as he scored 13 points in the third quarter.
Hawks Coach Larry Drew praised Horford after the game by saying, "He was a beast tonight. He did it all at both ends. In the huddles, he was cheering the guys and telling them to keep playing. He was phenomenal."
Both teams came out strongly in the fourth quarter as they tied the contest at 79-79 with just 56 seconds to go. However, the Hawks went on a 6-1 run to seal the victory by three points.
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