Tag: Atlanta Hawks

Billy Donovan says Knicks games will help Bulls against Hawks

Billy DOnovan says playing the New York Knicks multiple times will help the Chicago Bulls against the Atlanta Hawks.

The Chicago Bulls have a very odd schedule to wrap up the season this year. They picked up a win over the New York Knicks on Friday night, but that’s not the last time they take on the blue and orange. In fact, the Bulls will play the Knicks two more times before their regular season wraps up, including in their season finale.

The Tom Thibodeau-led Knicks are a very physical team that relies on their defense to lead the way. As Chicago prepares for their inevitable Play-In game against the Atlanta Hawks, Billy Donovan is looking to gain as much experience as possible, and he believes playing the Knicks a few times will help with that.

Donovan said that the Hawks have improved their physicality, so the Bulls need to prepare for it. (H/t Joe Cowley of the Chicago Sun-Times)

‘‘It will be a great physical challenge for us,’’ Donovan said. ‘‘Atlanta has made some significant progress defensively the last few weeks. This is what it’s like at the end of the year, playing against these types of teams, and I think it can only be helpful for us going against it. There are certain things you have to do physically, and at times we’ve struggled with that, quite honestly, whether it’s on the backboard or trying to win the point of the screen.’’

If the Bulls want to make a run, they need to be in tip-top shape.

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Malachi Flynn was the least dominant scorer to ever hit 50 points in an NBA game, which rocks

Here is some fun trivia about the Malachi Flynn Game.

Detroit Pistons guard Malachi Flynn had 50 points against the Hawks.

That is not a typo or some weird prank just to confuse people. Flynn, a 25-year-old guard who was included as part of a deadline deal from the Knicks to the Pistons, actually recorded a 50-point performance on Wednesday.

This was likely a surprise for everyone involved, including Flynn, who did not even appear in the starting lineup for the contest. In fact, he now ranks behind only Jamal Crawford for the most points scored off the bench ever in a single NBA game.

Even crazier, though, is that Flynn entered the game with the lowest scoring average from someone with a 50-point game.

Flynn averaged just 5.2 points per game before this random scoring outburst.

While the Pistons are having a dreadful season, it was amazing that the guard was given a chance to prove that this is something that he is capable of on the court.

No matter what happens during the rest of his basketball career, Flynn will always have the 50-point game associated with his name. It just goes to show that anyone can get hot on any given night if they get the right opportunity.

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Nets are officially eliminated from the play-in tournament

After the Atlanta Hawks’ win on Wednesday, the Brooklyn Nets have officially been eliminated from the Eastern Conference play-in tournament.

NEW YORK — The Brooklyn Nets have had a tough season after beginning the 2023-24 campaign with a 13-10 record that gave plenty of fans hope for playoff basketball. Unfortunately, Brooklyn did not do enough after the All-Star break to give anyone confidence in their ability to make the postseason and the inevitable came.

Despite the Nets beating the Indiana Pacers on Wednesday 115-111, Brooklyn was eliminated from the play-in tournament because the 10th-seeded Atlanta Hawks beat the Detroit Pistons 121-113. What makes Wednesday even more of a sting is that the Pistons put themselves in a position to beat the Hawks thanks to guard Malachi Flynn scoring 50 points off the bench.

In the end, the Nets and the rest of the NBA world knew what was at stake for them once the NBA detailed what the scenario was for Brooklyn to continue its season and/or be eliminated from postseason contention. As the league detailed, the Nets had to beat the Pacers and hope that Atlanta lost to Detroit in order for Brooklyn to still have a chance at the play-in.

In Wednesday’s game against Indiana, the Nets saw great performances out of Cam Thomas (27 points) and rookie Noah Clowney (22 points, 10 rebounds) that gave Brooklyn the boost it needed to beat a tough Pacers team. What happened on Wednesday was a microcosm of the Nets this season as it seems that even when they win, they lose in some other way.

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Vit Krecji discusses career night vs. Bulls in Hawks victory

After his career-night in the Atlanta Hawks’ win over the Chicago Bulls, Vit Krejci shared his thoughts.

It’s been that type of season for the Chicago Bulls. They started the season 5-14 and have since turned it around, but they still find themselves stuck in the 9-10 Play-In Tournament picture. They’re battling it out with the Atlanta Hawks to see who will have home-court advantage in the game, but the Bulls’ loss to the Hawks on Monday was brutal.

With the loss, the Bulls are now just one game ahead of the Hawks in ninth, and Vit Krejci went off. The 23-year-old forward had one of the best games of his career against the Bulls, helping lead them to a win.

After the game, Krejci spoke about his big night. (H/t Andrew Seligman of the Chicago Tribune)

“It’s just a confidence,” Krejci said. “You knock down a couple. The team was playing well. I think the reason why we shot the ball well today was we just were moving the ball. When you get a 3 off of three passes or a kickout or something like that, it always feels better than a one-pass 3.”

Of all the night for Krejci to go off, it had to be against the Bulls.

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Billy Donovan on Bulls-Hawks and the importance of competitiveness

Before their loss to the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, Chicago Bulls head coach Billy Donovan spoke about th eimportance of competitiveness.

The Chicago Bulls and Atlanta Hawks are in a tight race to earn home-court advantage in the first game of the Play-In Tournament. Whoever finishes the season as the ninth seed in the Eastern Conference will get to welcome the other to their arena for the 9-10 game, where one team will move on and the other will see their season end.

Because of how tight the race is, the Bulls need to be fully focused every single night down the stretch of the season. They don’t have the luxury of some other teams who aren’t fighting for anything anymore. If they want to make the Hawks come to the United Center, they need to play hard every game.

Ahead of the Bulls’ game against the Hawks on Monday night, Billy Donovan spoke about this very topic. (H/t Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times)

“Probability-wise, there’s a likelihood we see each other again,” Donovan said. “All these games are important in terms of the competitiveness. I was pleased coming out of the Minnesota game just because of what happened. You knew they were going to make a run. I thought, when they got up, the guys did a great job of making the plays necessary to regain control of the game.”

Unfortunately, the Bulls lost to the Hawks on Monday, meaning their lead on Atlanta in the standings is now at just half a game.

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Billy Donovan breaks down three-point disparity in Bulls loss to Hawks

Head coach Billy Donovan spoke about the difference in three-point shooting in the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Atlanta Hawks.

The Chicago Bulls aren’t the best three-point shooting team. They sit somewhere in the middle of the pack in terms of makes and attempts this season, but on Monday night, they barely scratched the surface compared to their opponent. The Bulls took just 28 threes against the Atlanta Hawks on Monday, who chucked up 40.

Chicago ended up making just seven of their attempts, which put them at a serious disadvantage, as Atlanta made 19. That’s a 36-point difference on three-pointers alone. In the end, it was too much of a gap for the Bulls to make up, as they lost by a score of 113-101 in a game with serious Play-In seeding implications.

After the game, head coach Billy Donovan spoke about the difference in three-point shooting. (H/t Annie Costabile of the Chicago Sun-Times)

“Some of the threes were a byproduct of the battles at the point of the screens offensively and defensively,” Donovan said. “On both ends of the floor, [the Hawks] won those battles in a lot of ways. They shot the ball exceptionally, as well. You give them credit for that. We didn’t shoot the ball nearly as well, and certainly we didn’t generate nearly as many threes. . . . It’s more the corner threes for me that we have to be better at.”

If the Bulls want to make a run, they can’t keep getting outshot from distance like this.

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DeMar DeRozan shares optimistic thoughts after Bulls loss to Hawks

After the Chicago Bulls’ loss to the Atlanta Hawks, DeMar DeRozan provided an upbeat perspective.

The Chicago Bulls welcomed the Atlanta Hawks to town on Monday night for a game with major Play-In seeding implications. The two sides are battling it out for who will get home-court advantage in the 9-10 Play-In game. Unfortunately, Chicago wasn’t able to maintain their lead on Monday.

The Hawks walked out of the game with a 113-101 win over the Bulls, marking their fourth victory in five games. Vit Krejci poured in a career-high 18 points as the Hawks’ offensive shot a combined 19-of-40 from beyond the arc (47.5%). Meanwhile, the Bulls made just seven of the 28 three-pointers they attempted (25.0%). Those numbers alone led to a 36-point disparity.

Despite the loss, DeMar DeRozan provided a somewhat upbeat perspective after the game. (H/t ESPN)

“As bad as it feels now, I don’t think we played that bad,” DeRozan said.

DeRozan finished the game with 31 points, two rebounds, five assists, and two steals while shooting 10-of-23 from the field.

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Bogdan Bogdanovic and Hawks coach Quin Snyder had an intense, heated interaction on the bench

The player and the coach insist that everything is all good now, though.

Even though the Atlanta Hawks won the game, it wasn’t smooth sailing for veteran Bogdan Bogdanovic and head coach Quin Snyder.

Late in the fourth, despite carrying a massive lead, the two individuals had an intense interaction while on the bench. There was a delay in the game after Bogdanovic spilled a water bottle, and then visibly frustrated, he approached his coach.

Clearly upset about something, Bogdanovic then got into the face of Snyder. He pointed to himself and was yelling about something before eventually, his teammates got involved and had to separate the two parties.

Atlanta ended up winning the game by a convincing margin, so the vibes were mostly good afterward.

Snyder was asked about the heated interaction and he said that everything was all good.

Here is what Snyder said during his press conference:

“Bogi was terrific. And he and I are in a great place. Better than good. Great. I love how he played as well. And he’s defending, which has been a point of pride for him.”

Bogdanovic also insisted that there were no problems between the two.

According to the Atlanta wing, it was “normal” and that the intensity just suggests that everyone cares about each other.

He added that while it was sad the moment got caught on the broadcast, it is better than both of them holding it in.

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Pat Connaughton/Blake Wesley NBA Tracker: March 25-31

Not a flashy week by any standard.

It wasn’t the most productive week for Notre Dame’s NBA representation, but [autotag]Pat Connaughton[/autotag] got it off to a decent start. In the Milwaukee Bucks’ March 26 loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, he made only a single 3-pointer but tied his career high in assists with nine, which he set earlier this season.

Connaughton finished his week with four points, four assists and three rebounds March 30 against the Atlanta Hawks. For the week, he averaged 3.3 points, 4.7 assists and 2.3 rebounds a game.

[autotag]Blake Wesley[/autotag] scored five points, had three assists and picked up a steal to help the San Antonio Spurs defeat the Phoenix Suns on March 25. He had four points, five rebounds and three assists in a March 29 win over the New York Knicks. That helped a week in which he averaged 2.8 points, 2.5 rebounds and 3.8 assists a game.

Here are some photos that were taken of Notre Dame’s two NBA players during the past week:

Coby White says Bulls are trying not to focus on the Hawks

Coby White said that the Chicago Bulls are trying to not pay attention to their Play-In race with the Atlanta Hawks.

When the season began, it looked as though the Chicago Bulls may be heading on a one-way flight to a top lottery pick. Since then, they’ve turned their season around and now find themselves in the middle of the pack in the Eastern Conference. They’ll almost certainly be playing the Atlanta Hawks in the 9-10 Play-In game. The only question is, who will have home-court advantage?

For a while, it looked like the Bulls would be welcoming the Hawks to the United Center, but Atlanta has gained some ground on them in the standings as of late. Now, it could go either way.

While the Bulls understand what they are playing for in that regard, Coby White recently said that they are trying not to pay attention to it. (H/t Julia Poe of the Chicago Tribune)

“We not really trying to put too much into it,” White said. “We just want to take it one game at a time, get one win at a time, and try not to really look to the future.”

Chicago is only one game up on Atlanta, so as of now, it’s their ninth seed to lose.

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