Horford, Millsap Lead Hawks Past Bulls 120-105

Horford scored a season-;high 33 points and had 10 rebounds as Atlanta beat the Chicago Bulls 120-105 on Saturday night.

“We kind of get it going and then we lose a couple, that type of thing”, Horford said. “They had way more energy coming out of the gate than we did. From the beginning of the game, we did that”.

The Bulls fell to 22-13 and 6-8 on the road.

“Moving the ball, hustling on defense and trying to do it consistently – as a team, I feel like we have some lapses in those areas”, Horford said.

“Al Horford was very vintage”, Hawks coach Mike Bodenholzer said.

“Added Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg: “(Horford) was phenomenal, absolutely.

The Bulls were led by Jimmy Butler with 27 points and Nikola Mirotic with 24 points and 10 rebounds and five of nine three pointers.

After climbing out of a second-quarter, 19-point hole, the Bulls trailed by only six entering the fourth but the Hawks went on a 13-2 run to start the quarter and regain control. He had 18 points, eight rebounds, six blocks, three assists and two steals.

“Guys played great, with a lot of energy and a lot of passion”, Teague said.

Paul Millsap is averaging 20.3 points per game over the last seven games, and has scored in double-figures in 13 consecutive games overall, including six 20-point efforts.

The Atlanta Hawks could use a victory here after splitting their last six games.

“The only way we can really score without the big fella (Griffin) is if we defend and get out in transition”, he said. “They rocked us right away, hit us with a right-hand hook and stumbled us”.

The Hawks would put the final nail in the coffin to start the fourth quarter, as they ran off a quick 11-2 run to push the lead to 15.

Chicago Bulls forward Taj Gibson (22) goes up for a shot against Atlanta Hawks center Tiago Splitter (11) in the first half of an NBA basketball game Saturday, Jan. 9, 2016, in Atlanta.

In the promotional video for social media, Hawks players Justin Holiday and Lamar Patterson are set up by teammate Kyle Korver to be the grateful recipients of Nickelodeon’s iconic green slime synonymous with the channel and its show, You Can’t Say That on Television.

“You want to get out and get those leads”.

Chicago would not fade away that quietly, however, and the Bulls charged again in the third quarter, closing to within a three-point margin on a number of occasions. The Bulls are allowing 32.9 percent shooting from deep and are forcing 11.5 turnovers per game. Chicago would win the rebounding battle, but shot 43.4%, 38.9% as compared to Atlanta, compiling 21 turnovers to only 16 assists. When asked if this performance masked some defensive issues that had been bubbling, Bulls point guard Derrick Rose acknowledged that he thought his team just needed to do a better job of talking. “That’s got to change”.

NOTES: C Joakim Noah, who didn’t make the trip, missed his ninth straight game because of a left shoulder sprain, but could be back as early as the Bulls’ next game in Chicago against Washington. F Thabo Sefolosha couldn’t play after falling during a win Thursday at Philadelphia and hurting his right wrist. The Bulls are now second in the East with a game and a half lead over the Hawks (all in the loss column).