Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan and Atlanta’s Trae Young, two of the NBA’s top scorers, will be in the spotlight on Thursday night when the Bulls try to sweep the season series on their final trip to Atlanta.
The Bulls won the first three meetings against the Hawks, including 112-108 on Feb. 24 in Chicago.
Chicago has lost two straight games since that win, including Monday’s 112-99 setback at Miami.
The Bulls have been riding the hot shooting of DeRozan, the No. 4 scorer in the NBA.
DeRozan is averaging 28.2 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.0 assists a game but had his streak of 30-plus-point performances end at 10 on Monday when he scored just 18 against the Heat. He put up 37 against the Hawks in their most recent meeting, including the go-ahead jumper that gave Chicago a two-point lead with 15.1 seconds left.
“I was just playing,” DeRozan said about the streak. “Just going out there playing, competing, doing whatever I could. I’m glad it’s over with so I can stop hearing everything about it.”
DeRozan is averaging 30.7 points and 7.0 assists and shooting 62.7 percent from the field against the Hawks this season.
Atlanta is coming off a 107-98 loss to Boston on Tuesday.
Young is the league’s No. 5 scorer, averaging 27.9 points and 9.3 assists, but he was limited to 14 points in the most recent meeting with Chicago. He bounced back by scoring 41 in a win against Toronto on Saturday. He is averaging 30 points and 10 assists against the Bulls this season.
The Hawks got a bit of a scare on Tuesday when Young sprained his left ankle after Boston’s Marcus Smart slid into him and earned a Flagrant 1 in the first quarter. Young returned midway in the second quarter and produced 31 points in 37 minutes. He said the ankle stiffened through the game, but did not foresee a long-term issue.
“As long as I keep it loose in the next couple of days, hopefully I can keep it going,” he said.
The Hawks blew a 17-point lead to the Celtics despite Boston losing starter Jaylen Brown to an ankle injury early in the first quarter. Atlanta wasted the opportunity due to poor shot selection and settling for jump shots.
“I think we can be more patient and be more aggressive, look to the rim,” Atlanta coach Nate McMillan said. “We know the game plan, and when you have the ball, you’ve got to make a play. And if you feel that shot is a good shot for you at that moment, that’s what they’re doing, they’re taking those shots. But at this time of the year, you have to be aggressive getting to the basket, getting to the free-throw line.”
Meanwhile, Chicago coach Billy Donovan is looking for continued growth in his young team, which is in second place in the Eastern Conference.
“The biggest thing for me is we have to get battle-tested in some of these games, and we just don’t have a lot of guys who have gone into these kind of experiences,” he said. “I think it’s really good for us.”
