Len Scores 28, Hawks Hold On To Beat Bulls 123-118
CHICAGO (AP) — Alex Len scored a season-high 28 points and the Atlanta Hawks held on to beat the Chicago Bulls 123-118 on Sunday.
Len finished three points shy of his career high. He also made a personal-best five 3-pointers.
Trae Young scored 18 before getting ejected early in the third quarter for taunting Chicago's Kris Dunn. And the Hawks got some payback for a 168-161 quadruple overtime loss at home two nights earlier.
Lauri Markkanen led Chicago with 19 points, though he shot just 6 of 21. Antonio Blakeney scored 17, but the Bulls came up short after winning five of six.
The two teams went down to the wire again, coming off the third highest scoring game in NBA history.
The Hawks had to sweat out this one after leading most of the way.
Markkanen hit two free throws to cut it to 118-117 with 1:14 remaining before Atlanta's Kevin Huerter answered with a floater. With fans ready to let out a deafening roar, Dunn missed a wide-open 3 from the wing with 21 seconds remaining.
Huerter then missed two free throws with 15.7 seconds left. Chicago's Wayne Selden got the rebound. But after a timeout, Markkanen missed a 3 from the top of the key.
The Hawks' Kent Bazemore got the rebound, then hit one of two free throws to make it a four-point game with 7.7 seconds remaining.
TIP-INS
Hawks: F John Collins missed his second game in a row because of flu-like symptoms and did not travel with the team. ... F Omari Spellman could miss the remainder of the season because of a high left ankle sprain. Spellman was helped to the locker room late in the third quarter of Friday's quadruple-overtime loss to the Bulls at home. He had an MRI on Saturday. The Hawks said he will be re-evaluated in a month, and coach Lloyd Pierce wasn't sure if Spellman will return this season. "That one's tough," Pierce said. "He sprained it very (badly). It's a legit ordeal." The No. 30 overall pick in last year's draft, Spellman is averaging 5.9 points and 4.2 rebounds. ... F Taurean Prince, awaiting the birth of his second child, missed the game.
Bulls: The Bulls held out F Otto Porter Jr. for precautionary reasons after he played 54 minutes on Friday. He recently missed a game because of a strained lower left leg.
UP NEXT
Hawks: At Miami on Monday night.
Bulls: At Indiana on Tuesday night.
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