Josh Smith scored 25 points to lead the Atlanta Hawks to a 109-94 blowout win over the Chicago Bulls on Saturday night.
Smith scored 14 of his points in the first half and made highlight reels with his 3-on-1 alley-oop finish in the fourth quarter - one of the Hawks’ many fast-break buckets. Joe Johnson had 17 points, picking up 12 of those in a furious first half for the Hawks.
Atlanta picked up its second straight win playing its final game of a back-to-back-to-back stretch.
Chicago had its six-game winning streak snapped and lost for just the fourth time in its last 11 meetings with the Hawks.
Atlanta jumped out to a quick start, taking a 17-point lead. Chicago battled back to cut the lead to two points in the second quarter before Atlanta finished the first half on an 18-2 run to take a 63-45 lead at the break.
The Hawks carried that momentum into the third, outscoring the Bulls 14-5 to open the second half and stretched their lead to 27 points. Atlanta finished shooting 57 percent from the field, including going 9 for 12 from beyond the arc. Vladimir Radmanovic made five of those 3-pointers, finishing with 17 points off the bench.
Carlos Boozer was the only Chicago starter to crack double figures, scoring 12 points. The Bulls bench combined for 62 points in the blowout, with John Lucas scoring a career-high 16 points. Kyle Korver finished with 13 while Jimmy Butler added 12 points.
Chicago | Atlanta | |
John Lucas 16 | Scoring | Josh Smith 25 |
Derrick Rose 6 | Assists | Jeff Teague 8 |
Omer Asik 13 | Rebounds | Al Horford 7 |
Jimmy Butler 6 | Free Throws Made | Vladimir Radmanovic 2 |
Omer Asik 2 | Steals | Jeff Teague 5 |
Taj Gibson 2 | Blocks | Josh Smith 6 |
Team | Points | FG% | 3PM-3PA | FTM-FTA | Assists | Rebounds | Blocks | Steals | Turnovers |
Chicago | 94 | 43.9 | 6-14 | 16-20 | 21 | 43 | 5 | 8 | 20 |
Atlanta | 109 | 56.6 | 9-12 | 6-6 | 32 | 31 | 8 | 16 | 14 |