National Basketball Association
Chicago 130, Atlanta 118
When: 7:30 PM ET, Monday, December 27, 2021
Where: State Farm Arena, Atlanta, Georgia
Officials: #43 Matt Myers, #30 John Goble, #12 CJ Washington
Attendance: 17049

DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine and Nikola Vucevic combined for 89 points to help the visiting Chicago Bulls roll to a 130-118 win over the Atlanta Hawks on Monday.

It was the fourth straight win for Chicago, which ended a three-game losing streak to Atlanta. The Hawks took their eighth consecutive home defeat overall.

DeRozan scored 35 points, his 23rd game with 20-plus points, and had 10 assists. LaVine scored 30 points, his 10th game with 30-plus this season, and nine assists. Vucevic had 24 points and 17 rebounds. The Bulls made a season-high 18 3-pointers.

Atlanta received good news minutes before tipoff when leading scorer Trae Young was cleared to play. Young, who averages 27.3 points and 9.3 assists, had missed three games while in COVID-19 protocols. He scored 29 points and dished out nine assists.

The Hawks' Cam Reddish scored 33 points and made a career-high eight 3-pointers. Bogdan Bogdanovic scored 20, and Gorgui Dieng had 12.

The Hawks came out hot, with Young scoring 12 and Reddish adding 11 in the first quarter, which ended with Atlanta leading 36-31. But as the Hawks began to go to the bench, the Bulls started to assert themselves, going on a 23-12, half-ending run. LaVine had 23 and DeRozan had 21 in the first half, with Chicago taking a 69-63 halftime lead.

The Bulls led 98-87 after three quarters, but the Hawks cut the lead to three points on a 3-pointer by Reddish with 7:43 to go, only to have Vucevic answer with a 3-pointer. Atlanta never got that close again.

The Hawks continued to lose players to COVID protocols, the latest being forward John Collins. He was replaced in the starting lineup by Chaundee Brown Jr., who signed a 10-day contract hours before the game started.

Also on the COVID list for Atlanta were Danilo Gallinari, Kevin Huerter, Onyeka Okongwu, Timothe Luwawu-Cabarrot, Lou Williams, Delon Wright, Sharife Cooper, Wes Iwundu and Jalen Johnson.

Chicago's Lonzo Ball, Avery Bradley and Alfonzo McKinnie were out due to COVID protocols.

The Bulls and Hawks will meet again on Wednesday in Chicago.

--Field Level Media

Top Game Performances
 
Chicago   Atlanta
DeMar DeRozan 35 Scoring Cam Reddish 33
DeMar DeRozan 10 Assists Trae Young 9
Nikola Vucevic 17 Rebounds Clint Capela 16
DeMar DeRozan 5 Free Throws Made Trae Young 12
Coby White 2 Steals Chaundee Brown 2
Nikola Vucevic 4 Blocks Cam Reddish 2
Team Stats Summary
 
Team Points FG% 3PM-3PA FTM-FTA Assists Rebounds Blocks Steals Turnovers
Chicago 130 54.3 18-37 10-14 29 44 6 5 10
Atlanta 118 44.9 15-34 23-26 22 45 5 3 10
Upcoming Games
  • Atlanta will play their next game on the road against Chicago. The Hawks have a W/L % of .500 after a win and .412 after a loss.
  • Chicago will play their next game at home against Atlanta. The Bulls have a W/L % of .667 after a win and .700 after a loss.