ATLANTA _ On Selection Sunday, few in Atlanta selected to witness the Bulls-Hawks matinee. The game drew a crowd that looked closer to what DePaul attracts for a decent Big East opponent.
A bearded Charles Oakley attended, though, and perhaps the Bulls made him proud with their toughness and offensive rebounding. They trailed by as many as 16 points early but won going away, 129-122.
The Bulls are now 23-43 after "succeeding" to beat many of the NBA's true tankers. Seven teams have a worse record, and the Knicks, who have lost seven straight to fall to 24-43, are trying to get there.
Nine Bulls made at least one 3-pointer and the team scored 109 points over the final three quarters.
The Bulls scored 21 second-chance points. That's 21 more than the Hawks, who lost Kent Bazemore to a knee injury in the second quarter.
Every Bulls bench player finished on the good side of plus-minus. Every starter was on the minus side, though Lauri Markkanen (19 points) finished 6-for-13 after missing his first six shots.
Bobby Portis and Zach LaVine scored 21 points apiece, and Portis added five offensive rebounds and 10 overall.
Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg told reporters before the game that LaVine had grown frustrated by some poor shooting nights. He hit 3 of 15 in Detroit on Friday.
"I did like his attack and the fact he wasn't settling; he was trying to get into the teeth of the defense," Hoiberg said. "He drew contact on a couple but unfortunately didn't get the call. That affected his transition defense. That was a conversation he and I had after the game.
"You can't let that affect getting back and putting your teammates in a tough position. ... That's something that has to change."
The Bulls' first shot was a missed reverse layup by LaVine, who screamed, "Hey!" He seemed to expect a call and was a bit slow to get back, leading to a three-on-two break and corner 3-pointer by Bazemore.
The Bulls got down 24-8, but they dominated the second quarter (33-16) and scored 76 points in the second half.
They shared the ball impeccably, finishing with 31 assists to just five turnovers.
Two highlights: Kris Dunn fired an overhead bounce pass through traffic to Markkanen, who slammed it home. Markkanen dunked even more emphatically off a perfectly timed bounce pass from David Nwaba.
Justin Holiday didn't play and Robin Lopez exited after 12 minutes. The Bulls didn't need them against a lifeless Hawks team coming off a 25-point loss to the Pacers.
