Bulls made to work overtime for win
Lauri Markkanen made three free throws to give Chicago the lead for good, Zach LaVine scored a career-high 47 points and the Bulls overcame Trae Young’s career-high 49 points to beat the Atlanta Hawks 168-161 in four overtimes yesterday.
Markkanen finished with 31 points with 17 rebounds. He snapped a 159-159 NBA tie by making the three free throws after he was fouled by Alex Len.
Young, the rookie who played almost 56 minutes, had his third straight game of setting or matching his career scoring high after back-to-back games with 36 points. He had 16 assists, eight rebounds and nine turnovers.
Young and DeAndre Bembry had turnovers in the final 30 seconds of the third overtime, preventing the Hawks from an opportunity to snap a 155-155 tie.
Ryan Arcidiacono’s threepointer forced the third overtime. The Bulls have won five of six. LaVine’s three-pointer gave Chicago a 139-138 lead with 1:31 remaining in the first overtime. Following Young’s errant pass for a turnover, Wayne Selden made one of two free throws to increase the lead to two points.
Young’s tiebreaking, step-back three-pointer with 2.2 seconds remaining in regulation forced the first overtime. The rookie’s last-second layup tied it at 140 to force the second overtime.
Chicago led 99-88 early in the fourth period before Atlanta rallied. Young’s steal and basket sparked a string of 11 straight points for a 121-116 lead.
The Bulls have the NBA’s youngest roster with an average age of 24.1 years. The Hawks made their own statement about youth by starting three rookies. Omari Spellman moved into the lineup as the third rookie, joining Young and Kevin Huerter.
Hawks forward John Collins, who scored 35 points in an overtime win over Minnesota on Thursday, was held out because of flu-like symptoms. Collins was told to rest at home as the team tried to protect other players from becoming ill.