ATLANTA – Billy Donovan was hesitant to share the text message from his dad at first.
The Bulls coach thought about it a second, remembered that his defense allowed 150 points to the Hawks just a few nights earlier, and realized it was warranted.
“I don’t know if I should say this but I got a great text from my dad,” Donovan said on Tuesday. “He was texting me about something (on Monday) and he said, ‘I think I could have got 10 last night.’ “
Sure, Billy Donovan Sr. is 80 years old now, but before his text draws a smirk, he was a baller in the 1960s and is still fourth all-time in scoring for Boston College.
The way the Bulls and Hawks play defense, 10 might have actually been underselling it.
And while there was a bit more resistance two nights later, neither team did anything to completely sway opinions in the rematch, as the Bulls came from behind late to win 126-123, snagging a fourth straight victory.
“I thought we got stops (late),” guard Josh Giddey, who finished with his seventh triple-double of the season, said. “To go 4-0 in our last four headed into this Christmas break was really, really good.”
Credit Atlanta for being in a giving mood.
Down double-digits seemingly minutes after the opening tip, the Bulls finally closed ground in the fourth, thanks to a Nikola Vucevic three that made it a 105-100 with just under 10 minutes left in regulation.
The two teams continued to trade baskets, and with 6:52 left in the game, they almost traded blows.
With play stopped for a Zach Collins foul, Ayo Dosunmu was walking to the bench and as he passed Hawks guard Trae Young, Young opted to slap him on the behind. Not a game Dosunmu wanted to play, instantly turning and getting in Young’s face as teammates and coaches ran to stop it from escalating any further than light shoving.
The play was reviewed and both players were given technicals.
“No man would like that,” Dosunmu said of what Young did. “It’s basketball so anything on the court (as far as trash talking), I’m fine with it. He was talking the whole game, that’s fine, I don’t care about that. But once you touch … nah, that’s when the line was crossed.”
Forgotten quickly by the visiting team because the Bulls had bigger birds to fry, specifically solving a Hawks offense that practices the same run-and-gun tempo that Donovan’s crew plays at.
Thanks to Young taking and missing a 32-foot-circus shot for no reason with 3:06 left, Coby White made him pay, cutting the lead to just one with a legitimate three on the other end.
Then the Bulls actually played some real defense. After two White free throws with 1:43 left, White turned Young over on the inbound. They didn’t capitalize, but they would, rebounding a Nickeil Alexander-Walker miss and sprinting down the floor for a Tre Jones layup and the one-point lead.
After Alexander-Walker missed a three, the Bulls (14-15) increased the lead to three after Giddey hit the 7-footer in the paint.
The Hawks called the timeout with 39.3 left, scored, but needed a stop. Not exactly their strong suit. Isaac Okoro grabbed a huge offensive rebound off the Vucevic miss, found White, who was fouled and split his free throws with 12.4 seconds left. That left the door open for Alexander-Walker to tie the game with a layup with 2.2 seconds left.
White was fouled on the inbound attempt by Zaccharie Risacher for the away from play foul, and made the one free throw. The Bulls maintained possession and Vucevic all but iced the game with his two free throws.
“It felt great,” Dosunmu added of the road finale. “Just being able to stay resilient, continue to get better. We all know what we’re capable of.”