The Bulls kicked off their season at home versus the Atlanta Hawks, in a game that was closer than expected.
Hawks
C-P. Drobnjak
PF-A. Walker
SF-A. Harrington
SG-J. Childress
PG-K. Anderson
Bulls
C-E. Curry
PF-T. Chandler
SF-L. Deng
SG-K. Conley
PG-K. Hinrich
Next time I'll take a pic of the lineups.
The first quarter was back and forth early but the Bulls managed to pull ahead for a 9 point lead after 1.
Conley gets an early basket thru a crowd of Hawks
But Kenny Anderson proved to be a thorn in the Bulls' side all game
And despite Chandler hitting him in the head Walker was still able to score here.
As the 2nd opened the Bulls controlled the game better but the Hawks still stayed within reach as the teams reached the half.
Othella Harrington gave the Bulls some points off the bench...
...but Walker managed to get a few open shots against the Bulls reserve unit.
Rookie Josh Childress made some key baskets all game long, this one over fellow rookie Deng.
Chandler gave Walker trouble in the post.
Childress knifed in as the quarter wrapped up, leaving Conley looking the wrong way.
The 3rd quarter saw the Bulls take their largest lead of the game and the Hawks looked to be on the ropes.
Al Harrington finished with only 6 points, but this dunk showed why Atlanta aquired him.
Tony Delk chipped in with a much needed 9 points off the bench including this awesome move that left both Hinrich and Chandler as spectators.
Bulls' rookie Ben Gordon made his impact known late in the 3rd with his first NBA 3 pointer.
The 4th quarter could have been anyone's game as the Hawks pulled within 3 at one point but some sharpshooting sent the United Center into a frenzy and the Bulls home as victors.
Davis came up with a key block on Childress early in the 4th.
And Gordon cut through two defenders to slam this one home.
Chandler dared Walker to come into his house as he blocked this one out of bounds...
...and Walker responded with this thunderous dunk on the inbound pass
Conley scored 3 of his 27 as the Hawks threatened.
And Kenny Anderson twisted just right to nail this jumper over Hinrich.
But Deng wanted to show Harrington and Childress a thing about shooting, hitting not 1...
...but 2 3 pointers.
And Conley capped it off with a layup through 3 Hawks.
Player of the Game:
Kurt Hinrich
Stats:
Atlanta
K. Anderson: 25 pts - 3 rebs - 3 asts
A. Walker: 17 pts - 6 rebs - 4 tos
T. Delk: 9 pts - 2 asts - 1 stl
J. Childress: 8 pts - 4 rebs - 2 asts
A. Harrington: 6 pts - 2 rebs - 6 tos
P. Drobnjak: 2 pts - 8 rebs - 1 ast
Chicago
K. Conley: 27 pts - 2 rebs - 3 asts
K. Hinrich: 10 pts - 12 rebs - 1 asts
T. Chandler: 10 pts - 5 rebs - 3 asts
L. Deng: 9 pts - 1 ast
B. Gordon: 9 pts
E. Curry: 8 pts - 7 rebs - 3 asts
A. Davis: 2 pts - 1 reb - 2 blks
O. Harrington: 2 pts - 5 rebs
F. Williams: 2 pts - 3 stls - 1 reb
Next game: versus Milwaukee Bucks.