Horford leads Hawks to take down Bulls

The Atlanta centre scored 33 points, grabbed 10 rebounds, handed out six assists and blocked four shots as the Hawks led all the way in a 120-105 victory over the Bulls on Saturday.

"We understood that this was a good measuring-stick game for us," Horford said. "We knew that the effort had to be there more than ever. We've been playing hard, but we knew we had to play harder. From the beginning of the game, we did that."

The Hawks (23-15) had six players in double figures while shooting 52.1 percent and forced the Bulls (22-13) into 22 turnovers.

"We need to continue to do what we did today, moving the ball and hustling on defence consistently," Horford said. "As a team, I feel that we sometimes have lapses in those areas."

Horford, who got Atlanta off to a fast start with 11 first-quarter points, made 15-of-21 shots and his point total was one shy of the career best for the eight-year veteran.

"Al Horford was very vintage," Hawks coach Mike Bodenholzer said. "Everyone kind of followed his lead."

Added Bulls coach Fred Hoiberg: "(Horford) was phenomenal, absolutely. Their bigs are so skilled, it is a tough match-up."

Bulls guard Jimmy Butler had 27 points and 10 rebounds, and Nikola Mirotic scored 24 points, but Chicago showed little intensity except during a third-quarter flurry.

With Butler scoring 14 points, the Bulls cut a 13-point halftime deficit to 77-75 with four minutes left in the third quarter thanks in part to a 10-0 run.

However, the Hawks got a rebound basket from Mike Scott at the third-quarter buzzer to go up 89-83 and started the fourth quarter with a 13-2 run for a 102-85 lead.

Paul Millsap had 18 points for the Hawks and Scott scored 14 off the bench. Dennis Schroeder and Jeff Teague had eight and six assists, respectively, while Teague and Kyle Korver each had three steals.

"Guys played great, with a lot of energy and a lot of passion," Teague said. "Al was the man. He did it at both ends, offensively and defensively."