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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
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GAME FLOW
CHICAGO (AP) – When the final buzzer sounded, streamers shot
from above the baskets, fans were on their feet and the United
Center rocked with "Another One Bites the Dust."
No, the Chicago Bulls didn't win another championship. Just a
game.
|  | | It's not much, but Elton Brand sure got excited about the Bulls' seventh win of the season. It ended a 16-game losing streak. |
But in snapping a franchise-record 16-game losing streak, a
little overkill can be forgiven.
"It doesn't feel good, it feels great," said Marcus Fizer, who
had 19 points and eight rebounds in Chicago's 96-92 victory over
the Atlanta Hawks. "Good is an understatement for how we feel. It
feels great to get that win."
It was Chicago's first victory since Jan. 4 – a stretch of 16
games that spanned two presidencies. But the Bulls being the Bulls,
they had to make it interesting.
They blew a 17-point lead, trailed by five with 5:29 left and
needed inspired play from Fizer, Ron Mercer and Elton Brand in the
last three minutes to seal the win.
Mercer finished with 19 points, and Brand had 17 points and 15
rebounds. Ron Artest also had 17 for the Bulls, who had six players
in double figures.
The loss did extend one losing streak. Atlanta has now lost six
in a row.
Lorenzen Wright and Jason Terry had 22 each for the Hawks.
Dikembe Mutombo had 19 points and 17 rebounds.
"A team that loses 16 in a row is going to come out with
energy," Terry said. "You just have to be more hungry than them.
We weren't."
Added Wright, "It is embarrassing. It takes a lot out of you.
You can probably sense the tension in this room."
Despite shooting just 25 percent in the first quarter and
trailing by 14 after one period, the Hawks came back and led 86-81
after Mutombo made a pair of free throws with 5:29 left.
But Atlanta made just two field goals in the last 6:24, and
couldn't keep up when the Bulls got a second wind in the closing
minutes.
"Worry? I was distraught!" Brand said about Atlanta's late
lead. "I was thinking, 'Here we go again.' We blew a lead, but we
played hard and got the win at the end."
Fizer gave the Bulls the lead back for good with a pair of free
throws with 2:49 left. Brand then hit a jumper from the top of the
key to give Chicago a 92-89 lead with 1:38 left.
The Bulls weren't about to let up, though. After a timeout,
Fizer chased down a ball that was going out of bounds with such
ferociousness that he flew about five rows into the stands.
Chicago held onto the ball, though, and Brand scored on a
15-footer.
"I told coach Floyd before at the beginning of the game that we
weren't going to lose this game," Fizer said. "When he put me
back in in the third quarter, ... I told him, we're not going to
lose this game.
"We got down, and never lost our poise."
Chris Crawford made the second of two free throws to cut the
lead to 94-90 with 40 seconds left, but Mercer scored on a layup
and the Bulls knew they finally had a victory.
"It feels very good," Artest said. "About time."
The Bulls had a 68-54 lead with 6:28 left in the third, but they
ran into one of their familiar late-game stalls, making just three
more field goals the rest of the quarter and shooting only 28
percent for the period.
Atlanta didn't waste any time taking advantage of Chicago's
drought. Wright made a pair of free throws, Terry hit a 13-footer
and Crawford dunked to get Atlanta within 68-60 with 5:07 left.
It was the first time the Hawks were within double digits since
the final minutes of the first quarter.
"I didn't ever think that just because we got up on them late,
that we would win," Atlanta coach Lon Kruger said.
The Bulls pushed the lead back to 74-65 on a 10-foot jumper from
Artest with 2:50 left in the quarter, but Wright sparked a 10-2 run
with a 10-footer.
Atlanta tied the game on Terry's layup with 10:20 left, and took
the lead on a pair of Brevin Knight free throws with 7:26 left. But
it wouldn't be enough.
Now the Bulls don't have to hear about their losing streak
anymore. At least not for a few more days, anyway.
"We got the monkey off our back. Now we can just play," Brand
said. "Every game, we were thinking about the losing streak. Now
we can just go play and be ourselves."
Game notes
The Bulls' 17-point lead in the second quarter was their
largest in 11 games. They led by 20 on Jan. 15 at Orlando, a game
they went on to lose. ... Kruger has been watching his old team
with pride this season. Illinois is No. 4 this week (No. 5 ESPN/USA Today), its highest
ranking since 1990. "They've done great," Kruger said. "It's fun
to watch them play well. ... Bill (Self) and his staff have done an
excellent job." Though the Illini are 20-5 and the Hawks are
16-34, Kruger said he has no regrets about the move he made. "I
don't spend a lot of time dwelling on what could have been," he
said. ... The Bulls had a 32-20 advantage in assists.
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ALSO SEE
NBA Scoreboard
Atlanta Clubhouse
Chicago Clubhouse
RECAPS
Charlotte 77
Indiana 66
Toronto 120
Cleveland 105
Miami 101
LA Clippers 99
LA Lakers 113
New Jersey 110
Philadelphia 107
Milwaukee 104
Sacramento 97
Utah 94
Chicago 96
Atlanta 92
Houston 99
Washington 89
San Antonio 104
Dallas 92
Denver 96
New York 77
Portland 109
Minnesota 88
Vancouver 99
Boston 98
Phoenix 93
Golden State 83
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