Atlanta, GA – Al Horford recorded a double-double with 20 points and 10 rebounds, as the Atlanta Hawks cruised past the Chicago Bulls, 92-75, on Saturday.
Lou Williams added 16 points for the Hawks, who snapped a two-game skid. Kyle Korver and Josh Smith tallied 13 and 12 points, respectively.
With the win, Larry Drew became the eighth Atlanta head coach to reach 100 wins. He did it in 173 games, which is the second-fastest behind only Hall of Famer Lenny Wilkens, who hit the milestone in 166 games.
"That was probably one of our most energized wins thus far this year," Drew said.
Luol Deng and Joakim Noah ended with 11 and 10 points, respectively, for the Bulls, who had a two-game winning streak snapped.
The Bulls held a 21-17 lead following a tight first quarter that featured 12 lead changes and three ties.
Atlanta responded with a big second stanza to take control of the game. Trailing by three, 31-28, with 7:21 left, the Hawks went on a 17-2 run. Williams and Korver made consecutive 3-pointers to spark the burst, which Horford capped with a layup for a 45-33 margin.
Korver added two more 3-pointers in the final 1:07 of the half to make it 53-37 at the break.
Atlanta led by as many as 26 in the second half.
"One night you feel great because you win a big game and then the next night you come out with the wrong mindset," Noah said. "Our energy was bad, and we settled for too many shots early in the clock. When you're tired, sometimes you have to move the ball (more)."
Game Notes
Chicago had won two straight against the Hawks ... Atlanta outscored the Bulls by a 36-16 margin in the second quarter ... Hawks guard Devin Harris missed his third straight game with a foot injury ... Williams and Korver each went 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
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