Jimmy Butler's Big Night Not Enough As Bulls Fall 115-107 To Hawks
ATLANTA (AP) — Thabo Sefolosha scored 20 points, Dwight Howard added 18 and the Atlanta Hawks beat the Chicago Bulls, 115-107, on Wednesday night for their third consecutive victory.
Paul Millsap had 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Hawks, and Dennis Schroder scored 13. Howard grabbed 10 boards as Atlanta outrebounded Chicago 49-30.
Jimmy Butler finished with 39 points and Dwyane Wade had 25 for the Bulls, who have lost four of five.
The output was Butler's highest since he scored a career-high 53 points against Philadelphia on Jan. 14 last season.
Atlanta carried over some momentum from Tuesday's rare victory at Cleveland. The defending NBA champion Cavaliers had won 11 straight in the series, including two playoff sweeps.
Sefolosha sparked the Hawks when he entered late in the first quarter, scoring 16 of their 21 points in a 3:44 stretch that spanned the first two periods to help Atlanta take a 45-31 lead.
The Hawks led by 17 early in the second on Millsap's jumper, but Chicago pulled within three early in the third. Kent Bazemore was called for a technical foul after slamming into Butler near the rim on a fast break, and Butler hit three free throws.
After Wade's jumper put the Bulls up 74-73, Chicago took its biggest lead at five on Doug McDermott's fast-break dunk before Tim Hardaway Jr.'s runner put Atlanta up 86-85 late in the third.
The Hawks led the rest of the way, pushing the margin to 11 when Hardaway hit a straightaway 3-pointer. McDermott's short jumper made it 103-101 with 4:54 remaining, but the Bulls didn't get any closer.
HEADED TO SOUTH FLORIDA
Wade will return to Miami on Thursday for the first time with an opposing team. The 12-time All-Star, who helped the Heat win three NBA titles in 13 seasons, had 23 points at the end of the third but went 1 for 4 from the field in the fourth.
STAYING CLOSE
Bulls G Michael Carter-Williams made the two-game road trip even though he's sidelined four to six weeks with a bruised left knee. Chicago coach Fred Hoiberg said Carter-Williams is "moving around well," but his timetable hasn't changed.
UP NEXT
Bulls: Visit Miami on Thursday.
Hawks: Host Philadelphia on Saturday.
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