Drummond, DeRozan lead the way as Bulls hold off Hawks 118-113
CHICAGO, ILLINOIS - DECEMBER 26: Trae Young #11 of the Atlanta Hawks passes off the ball around the defense of DeMar DeRozan #11 of the Chicago Bulls in the first half on December 26, 2023 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois. NOTE TO USER: User
CHICAGO - Andre Drummond had season highs of 24 points and 25 rebounds in his first start of the season, DeMar DeRozan scored 25 points and the Chicago Bulls cooled off Atlanta’s Trae Young somewhat in beating the Hawks 118-113 on Tuesday night.
Young finished with 21 points and 13 assists after tying Oscar Robertson’s record of seven consecutive games with at least 30 points and 10 assists.
The Bulls won for the ninth time in 13 games with Zach LaVine sidelined because of inflammation in his right foot. And they did it this time with center Nikola Vucevic out because of bruised muscles around his left hip and groin.
DeRozan scored 11 points in the fourth quarter, including four in the final 26 seconds to help Chicago come away with the win.
Drummond made 11 of 13 shots and played 39 minutes with Vucevic sidelined. Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 19. White missed all seven 3-pointers and the Bulls were 7 of 25 from beyond the arc, but they made enough shots to bounce back from a loss to injury-riddled Cleveland on Saturday.
Bogdan Bogdanovic led Atlanta with 22 points. Dejounte Murray finished with 17 after scoring 20 or more in five straight games, and the Hawks lost their third in a row.
The game was tied at 106-all when Alex Caruso nailed a 3 with just under four minutes remaining and the Bulls were up 111-110 when DeRozan hit a 14-footer with 1:42 left.
Murray then got called for a charge. With a chance to make it a two-possession game, White missed a 3 and Caruso came away with a steal, only to miss a 3 and a layup.
Young then cut it to 113-111 when he made a free throw with 43 seconds remaining. But DeRozan spun for a finger roll to bump Chicago's lead to four with 26 seconds left, and the Bulls hung on from there.
But Chicago could be down two key players at least for a little while, with Vucevic joining LaVine on the sideline.
Coach Billy Donovan was not sure how long Vucevic will be out. The two-time All-Star had an MRI on Tuesday.
Vucevic was hurt trying to defend a dunk by Cleveland’s Max Strus during the Bulls’ loss to the Cavaliers on Saturday. Strus’ right knee struck Vucevic in the groin area.
Vucevic, averaging 16.7 points and 10.4 rebounds, missed his first game this season. He played in all 82 games last year.
LaVine, meanwhile, started doing some light cutting on Tuesday.
UP NEXT
Hawks: Host Sacramento on Friday.
Bulls: Host Indiana on Thursday.