Road-weary Hawks limp to loss at Bulls in NBA Cup, 136-122

The second-consecutive ugly road loss.

The Hawks looked to go 3-0 in the NBA Cup and once again pull to within one game of .500. In their way, however, was a Bulls team that mounted a big comeback to win the previous matchup this season.

One thing in Atlanta’s favor was a full complement of healthy 15-man roster players (save Cody Zeller who remains away from the team and Mouhamed Gueye who was assigned to the College Park Skyhawks).

Atlanta looked mildly out of sorts early on, committing some silly turnovers and not getting lined up on defense the other direction. Clint Capela’s 10 big points almost purely from rim running was the only thing keeping Atlanta close.

After a timeout, ‘Bogi’ slashed the six-point deficit in half with one shooting stroke.

After one quarter, the Hawks trailed 28-25.

The bench unit scuffled on offense spanning the first and second quarters. Turnovers were once again a big culprit. But later in the second quarter, the Hawks’ main thief forced one of his own.

Then, Zaccharie Risacher emulated his Australian brethren.

But offense was tough to find all first half, and the Hawks dug themselves another double-digit lead before a Jalen Johnson triple and a Trae Young run-out layup — whistled for goaltending — brought the lead to a manageable level at the break, 58-51.

Johnson led the way with 13 points and nine rebounds. Clint Capela chipped in 11 points and six rebounds. Young had eight points and six assists in the half as well.

In the second half, the Hawks still couldn’t find the range from deep and at times traded twos for threes with the Bulls. Chicago stretched the lead out and the Hawks were left to play catch up.

Bogdanovic was the only reliable threat from outside tonight.

To add insult to injury, the defense slipped at the end of the quarter and Chicago padded their lead.

After three quarters, the Hawks trailed 99-84.

There would be no real comeback as the Bulls continued to pour it on. Sim to end. The Hawks lose 136-122.

Jalen Johnson at least left with something with 25 points and 13 rebounds.

The Hawks fell to 7-10 on the season and 2-1 in the NBA Cup. They essentially must beat the Cleveland Cavaliers next Friday to remain alive in the tournament.

Next up in the regular season, however, will be the Dallas Mavericks without Luka Doncic back home on Monday.