The Chicago Bulls continued to play good defense against the Atlanta Hawks in the third quarter, but they still trail 59-54 early in the fourth quarter. The Bulls have been showing some signs of life recently, though, as they've began the final quarter on a 12-3 run.
Atlanta scored just 18 points in the third quarter, but they still outscored Chicago's 16 points and extended their lead to 14 points at that point. It's generally been an offensive struggle for the Bulls, who have missed numerous easy shots and done little to establish any sort of rhythm on that end of the floor. They're shooting just 32 percent from the field so far, didn't make a single three-point field goal until the fourth quarter, and have had multiple silly turnovers. Defense has kept them in the game, though.
The Hawks are shooting just 35 percent from the floor tonight, and the Bulls have done a great job of limiting Joe Johnson and Jeff Teague on the perimeter. With Derrick Rose showing some serious signs of life early in the fourth quarter, you have to imagine that they're banking on a Rose-and-defense formula to try to pull off this comeback tonight.
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