Kyle Korver drained seven three pointers as the Atlanta Hawks won their 12th straight NBA game Saturday, a 107-99 victory over Chicago in a battle of division leaders.
The Hawks have won 26 of their last 28 games overall and are two games away from matching the longest winning streak in franchise history. The 1993-94 team won 14 games in a row.
Korver finished with 24 points while the red-hot Al Horford tallied 22 points for the Hawks who have also won 12 consecutive games on the road.
Jeff Teague had 17 points, 11 assists, three steals and three blocks in front of a crowd of 22,000 at the United Center arena as the Hawks wrapped up their four-game road trip with a perfect record.
The Hawks won their four games on the road by an impressive average of 15.25 points.
Spain’s Pau Gasol paced the Bulls attack with 22 points and 15 rebounds. Derrick Rose finished with 23 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds for Chicago, who have lost five of their last seven contests.
“It seems we were down and chasing them the entire game,” Rose said. “I don’t know when we are going to learn but we have to learn quickly.”
Korver made seven-of-nine attempts from beyond the arc on Saturday. Horford was also superb Saturday, going 11-of-14 from the floor and is now shooting 84 percent over his last three contests.
The shorthanded Bulls were playing without Joakim Noah and Mike Dunleavy.Â
Noah, who suffered a right ankle injury in the second quarter of Wednesday’s loss to Washington, is expected to undergo an MRI soon. Dunleavy is out with an ankle injury.
“This is our reality. This is what we gotta deal with. We have got to figure it out,” said Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau.
Atlanta led 48-39 at halftime and 76-67 heading into the fourth.
Taj Gibson’s dunk pulled Chicago within 76-69 early in the fourth, but a Korver four-point play increased the Hawks lead to 80-69 and the Bulls never got within less than five the rest of the way. –Â Agence France-Presse
