By and large, the Atlanta Hawks are a defensive-minded team, as evidenced by the fact that they have held 14 of their last 15 opponents to under 100 points per game; in Saturday night’s game against the Chicago Bulls, those plans went out the window.  Both teams shot very well during the game (Chicago shot 54.4% while Atlanta shot 55.7%) as Joe Johnson scored a season-high 41 points, leading Atlanta to a 129-117 win over Chicago at Philips Arena.

Both teams were hot early as the Bulls outscored the Hawks 35-32 in the first period while Atlanta outpaced Chicago 36-28 in the second quarter, sending the Hawks into their locker room leading 68-63 going into the third period.  Fast-forwarding to the fourth quarter, Atlanta held a 116-112 lead before Marvin Williams converted a 3-point play with 1:44 left to go in the game; Williams then scored on a baseline drive after a foul by the bulls’ Larry Hughes.  Josh Smith, on the Hawks next possession, grabbed an offensive rebound on a Johnson miss and dunked to give the Hawks an insurmountable 121-112 lead.

Atlanta’s high scorer was the aforementioned Johnson with a season-high 41 points (including 4 treys), 3 rebounds, 8 assists and 2 steals while Smith added 24 with 7 rebounds, 5 assists, 2 steals and a blocked shot; Mike Bibby pitched in, scoring 17 (including 3 three-pointers) with 2 rebounds and 7 assists while Williams added 16 with 8 rebounds, 4 assists and a blocked shot.  Al Horford recorded a double as he scored 10 with 10 rebounds.

Chicago was led by Ben Gordon with 33 points (including 6 – yes 6!! – treys), 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 2 steals while Derrick Rose added 27 with 4 rebounds and 7 assists; Tyrus Thomas chipped in, scoring 15 with 9 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals and 3 blocked shots.  Atlanta (19-10) plays again on Monday when they host the Denver Nuggets while Chicago (13-17) travels north to New Jersey to take on the Nets – also on Monday night.