The Chicago Bulls led the Atlanta Hawks 108-87 with just over a minute left in the third quarter on Thursday. There is no insurmountable advance in the NBAbut 21 points in the final moments of the third is about as close as it gets. At this point, ESPN’s win probability metric gave the Bulls a 99.2% chance of winning the game.
But the Hawks managed to come back, and it took a historic effort to do it.
The Hawks came back strong and won 141-133 thanks to an incredible 50-point effort in the fourth quarter. In addition to scoring 50 points, they committed just one turnover in the fourth. In doing so, the Hawks became the first team in the play-by-play era, which dates back to the 1997-98 season, to score 50 points with one turnover or less in the final image of a game.
The key sequence began with 5:31 left in the fourth quarter. A Jevon Carter bucket gave the Bulls a 126-110 lead and, once again, an almost certain victory. The Bulls didn’t score again until 1:47 into the fourth quarter. However, during that brief stretch of three minutes and 44 seconds, the Hawks scored 20 straight points to take a four-point lead.
Trae Young scored 27 points and had 13 assists, including 16 in the fourth, including the game-tying 3-pointer that made it 126-126 with 3:03 left. Elsewhere, Jalen Johnson led the Hawks with 30 points and 15 rebounds while De’Andre Hunter added 25 off the bench.
Even though the Hawks made history in the fourth quarter on Thursday, it wasn’t even the best offensive quarter the Hawks have had in franchise history. In 1970, the Hawks scored 54 points in one quarter against the San Diego Clippers. However, missing the record won’t cost the Hawks any sleep tonight, as the comeback was yet another statement in what has been a surprisingly strong season so far.
At 16-15, the Hawks are competing for a spot among the top six seeds in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They currently sit in 7th place, just a half-game behind the Miami Heat in a season in which most expected them to give up a lottery pick to the San Antonio Spurs.
The Hawks beat the Celtics on the road and had multiple wins over the Cleveland Cavaliers and New York Knicks. There’s still plenty of work for Atlanta to do long term on both sides of the ball, but this new formula of surrounding Young with athletic wings has paid off this season, and Thursday’s comeback is just the latest victory in a season full of them. .
