By Joseph Phillips
Sports Writer
The Chicago Bulls defeated the Atlanta Hawks 116-81 at the United Center on Saturday night (December 28) for their 13th win of the season.
With the victory over the Hawks, the Bulls are now 1.5 games out of the eighth seed of the Eastern Conference Playoff spot.
“I thought Lauri was aggressive,” said Jim Boylen, head coach of the Chicago Bulls about his star forward Lauri Markkanen performance. “I thought he came out really focused.”
According to head coach Jim Boylen, Markkanen made great offensive strides throughout Saturday’s game, finishing with a team high 25 points against the Hawks.
The Bulls outscored the Hawks 35-19 in the first quarter and 29-24 in the second quarter for a 64-43 half time lead.
In addition to Markkanen 25 points, Bulls guard Zach Lavine had one of his best all-around games of the season scoring 19 points, seven rebounds and four assist.
Lavine brought the United Center crowd to its feet after throwing down a two-hand alley-oop dunk, on an assist from his teammate Tomas Satoransky with 35 seconds remaining in the second quarter.
The Bulls closed out the game with six players in double figure scoring which included Lauri Markkanen with 25 points, Zach LaVine with 19, Coby White 18, Wendell Carter Jr. 13, Tomas Satoransky 11, and Thaddeus Young 10.
Final Score: Bulls 116, Hawks 81
Chicago Crusader Players of The Game:
Lauri Markkanen, Bulls, team high 25 points.
Zach LaVine, Bulls, 19 points and seven rebounds.
John Collins, Hawks, game high 34 points.
