Andre Drummond's 20-20 leads Bulls past Hawks

Field Level Media|published: Tue 26th December, 22:46 2023

Dec 26, 2023; Chicago, Illinois, USA; Chicago Bulls center Andre Drummond (3) dunks the ball over Atlanta Hawks center Clint Capela (15) during the first quarter at United Center. credits: David Banks-USA TODAY Sports

Andre Drummond tallied 24 points and 25 rebounds to help lead the Chicago Bulls to a 118-113 victory over the visiting Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday.

Drummond became just the sixth player to record a 20-20 game in the NBA this season. DeMar DeRozan added 25 points for the Bulls, who have now won four of their last five games. Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu each scored 19 for Chicago.

Bogdan Bogdanovic led Atlanta's scoring with 22 points while Trae Young added 21 points and 13 assists. Young was aiming to break Oscar Robertson's record of seven consecutive 30-point, 10-assist games but fell short. Dejounte Murray poured in 17 points while Saddiq Bey and Clint Capela each scored 13.

With the Bulls leading 111-110 with 1:42 remaining, DeRozan hit a mid-range jumper to extend the lead to three points, which was followed by a charge taken by Alex Caruso on the other end.

A minute later, Young split a pair of free throws before DeRozan hit a layup to give Chicago a 115-111 lead with 25.6 seconds left.

Young badly missed a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession and DeRozan made a pair of free throws that cemented the Chicago win.

Atlanta began the game just 7-for-24 (29.2 percent) shooting from the field and 3-for-14 (21.4 percent) on 3-pointers en route to a 28-17 deficit after the first quarter.

The Atlanta offense found its rhythm in the second quarter, connecting on 12 of its first 17 shots from the field and outscoring Chicago 39-22 en route to 56-50 halftime lead. Murray and Bogdanovic led the Atlanta first-half scoring with 13 and 10 points, respectively. Drummond dominated the opening half for the Bulls, tallying 14 points and 12 rebounds while shooting 7-for-7 from the field. The first-half performance made for his third double-double of the season.

Atlanta forward Jalen Johnson returned after missing the last 14 games with a wrist injury and provided 10 points and nine assists. Before the game, the Hawks announced De'Andre Hunter (14.9 points per game) will be out at least two weeks with a knee injury.

Chicago was missing Nikola Vucevic, (16.7 points per game) who was scratched pregame with a bruised adductor.

—Field Level Media

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