After erupting for a season-high 43 points on Tuesday, Trae Young won’t shy away from the possibility of shouldering a bigger load again on Wednesday when his Atlanta Hawks visit the Chicago Bulls.
Young’s big night sparked the Hawks to a 122-117 home win against the Phoenix Suns.
“We always got to give a little more,” he said, “including myself.”
Atlanta second-leading scorer, Jalen Johnson (shoulder soreness), missed his fourth straight game on Tuesday. No. 3 scorer De’Andre Hunter didn’t play after sustaining a left foot injury during warmups.
Young helped cover their absences, as did Onyeka Okongwu, who had 22 points and 21 rebounds to become the first player in franchise history to contribute at least 20 points and 20 boards as a reserve.
Chicago owns six victories in the past 10 meetings with Atlanta, including two wins in three meetings this season.
The Bulls are aiming to win the season series against the Hawks in back-to-back seasons for the first time since the 2012-13 and 2013-14 campaigns. Chicago has won or split the past three season series against Atlanta.
Rebounding from a 119-113 loss to the visiting New Orleans Pelicans on Tuesday potentially could pay dividends for Chicago at season’s end. A head-to-head tiebreaker would come in handy for the Bulls, who enter Wednesday trailing Atlanta by 2 1/2 games for ninth place in the Eastern Conference.
The first three meetings between the teams were a 12-point road victory for the Bulls on Nov. 9, a 14-point home win for Chicago on Nov. 22 and an eight-point home triumph for Atlanta on Dec. 26.
The most recent meeting was the Hawks’ highest-scoring game of the season, a 141-133 win.
Johnson notched 30 points and 15 rebounds while helping the Hawks to a 50-point fourth quarter that punctuated a comeback from a 21-point third-quarter deficit.
Johnson also had a double-double (25 points, 13 boards) against the Bulls on Nov. 22.
Chicago’s Zach LaVine scored a season-high 37 points in the Dec. 26 meeting, when he hit 7 of 9 3-point attempts. He was limited to 15 points in a home win against the Milwaukee Bucks two nights later but scored at least 30 points in a personal-best six straight games before the streak ended with a 25-point effort on Tuesday.
LaVine overcame 1-for-7 first-half shooting to earn the team scoring lead against New Orleans. Nikola Vucevic and Coby White each scored 22 points, and Vucevic grabbed a season-high 15 rebounds for his 25th double-double.
Vucevic credits a recent emphasis on rebounding for helping him renew his focus under the boards.
“As a big man, you have to do your job, which is rebound,” he said. “We are an undersized team, and so I have to do a little more with that part. It’s something I take pride in.”
Bulls coach Billy Donovan said Tuesday that Ayo Dosunmu (calf) is on track to return Wednesday after missing the past 10 games. Lonzo Ball won’t play in the second game of a back-to-back set due to injury management. Ball logged 11 points, eight rebounds and six assists in 25 minutes on Tuesday.
–Field Level Media
