March 29--In a roller-coaster affair, the Bulls lost their fourth game in a row despite a dramatic fourth-quarter comeback during which they erased a 13-point deficit to tie the score at 93-93 with 1 minute, 40 seconds remaining. The Hawks hit nine free throws down the stretch to sweep the season series from the Bulls 4-0.
Jeff Teague led all scorers with 26 for the Hawks while Dennis Schroder and Al Horford each added 14 for Atlanta.
Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 20 points, Pau Gasol had 19, Aaron Brooks 16 and Jimmy Butler 15 in the losing effort. The Bulls fell 2 1/2 games back of the Detroit Pistons for eighth place in the Eastern Conference.
Fight game
Despite the loss, there was one overwhelmingly positive for the Bulls: They didn't quit. That is saying something because the Bulls have not fared well when facing adversity this season. But after coughing up a 13-point second quarter lead during which the Hawks went on a 26-6 run, the Bulls kept at it and came alive in the fourth to put themselves in position to win the game. They will try to use that as momentum when they face the Pacers on Tuesday night in Indiana.
"Obviously, the second quarter is what cost us the game," coach Fred Hoiberg said. "We just had too big a lull in the second quarter where we were in control of the game and had a double-digit lead and let them take a lead into halftime. We were able to recover from our poor second quarter and give ourselves a chance to win."
When a team is struggling to find its identity 73 games into an 82-game season, it will take any positives it can get.
Jimmy is hurting
Jimmy Butler struggled from the field, hitting five of 16 shots. The guard did not participate in the morning shootaround and Hoiberg said Butler is battling through soreness. Butler had moments of brilliance, including a four-point play with :19.6 remaining to make it a one-point game.
"Jimmy is probably not telling you everything, but he is sore," Hoiberg said. "He is out there battling through pain. He has overall soreness and stiffness in his back. Nothing wrong structurally, but he just has some overall soreness. He is out there continuing to battle and made that huge four-point play for us late. He is going to give us everything he has. We will see how he is doing (Tuesday) morning and hopefully get a good effort."
Off Mike
Veteran forward Mike Dunleavy had a rough night, finishing 2-for-8 from the field with just one three-pointer. Along with Doug McDermott, Dunleavy's outside shooting prowess is key to the Bulls' offense as it stretches the defense. Despite at times looking limited physically, Hoiberg said Dunleavy is healthy and it's just a matter of time before shots start falling.
"(Dunleavy) is healthy," Hoiberg said. "He hit the three for us coming out at the second half. He will up his game and get that lid off the basket. Once he starts making more baskets it will help his confidence."
