Andre Drummond’s huge game leads Bulls past Hawks originally appeared on NBC Sports Chicago
Presented by Nationwide Insurance Agent Jeff Vukovich
The Chicago Bulls were victorious over the Atlanta Hawks, improving to 3-1 on their homestand. The game ended 118-113 in favor of the Bulls on Tuesday night at the United Center.
Here are 10 observations from the game:
—Before the game, coach Billy Donovan announced that Nikola Vučević would be out for at least the short term due to a strained left groin. As a result, Andre Drummond started for the Bulls. This marked Drummond’s first start as a Bull, after owning 630 career starts, most of them from his All-Star days with the Detroit Pistons.
—Drummond made a strong impact in his first rotational turn, contributing six points, including an alley-oop dunk from DeMar DeRozan and two putbacks off offensive rebounds. He also made an emphatic block against Clint Capela.
—Donovan also stated that he would be using small-ball lineups to cope with Vučević’s absence, favoring such lineups even before. Against the Hawks, seldom-used Terry Taylor was played as a small-ball center. Patrick Williams could also see some time at the backup center.
—Although the Bulls started slowly from 3-point range, they managed to finish with seven out of 25 successful attempts, with Jevon Carter and Ayo Dosunmu contributing three between them in the final 1 minute, 27 seconds of the first quarter.
—DeRozan recorded four assists before scoring his first points with two free throws and then a field goal late in the first half. He finished strong with 21 points, playing a significant role in the Bulls’ success despite missing other key players.
The Bulls had six scorers in double figures, with DeRozan sharing, “It makes my job easier going into the fourth quarter. Those guys look to me to close out the game. It’s fun.”