Hawks Fall Short in Wild 152–150 Loss to Bulls

In one of the most explosive games of the season, the Atlanta Hawks came up just short Sunday night, falling 152–150 to the Chicago Bulls in a high-scoring thriller on December 21, 2025.

Despite posting season-best numbers across the board, Atlanta couldn’t get the final shot to fall. After Matas Buzelis made one of two free throws to push Chicago’s lead to 152–150 with 4.2 seconds remaining, Trae Young had a clean look at a potential game-tying jumper at the buzzer—but it rattled out, sealing the Bulls’ victory.

The loss came in Trae Young’s second game back since his injury, and the Hawks were also without center Kristaps Porziņģis, who missed the game due to illness.

Atlanta’s offense was firing on all cylinders. The Hawks scored a season-high 150 points while shooting 52.0 percent from the field and 48.9 percent from three-point range. Their 23 made three-pointers extended the franchise’s streak of 10-or-more threes to 21 straight games—the second-longest run in team history. Atlanta also dished out 39 assists, marking their league-leading 19th game this season with 30-plus assists.

Jalen Johnson led the way with a dominant all-around performance, pouring in a team-high 36 points on 12-of-21 shooting to go along with 11 rebounds and nine assists in 36 minutes. The outing marked his 19th double-double of the season and 59th of his career. Johnson has now recorded 10 straight double-doubles, tying Karl-Anthony Towns for the longest active streak in the NBA and the longest by a Hawk since Clint Capela’s 12-game run in 2020–21.

Trae Young looked like himself again, erupting for a season-high 35 points on an ultra-efficient 10-of-15 shooting, including 7-of-8 from beyond the arc. He added nine assists in just 26 minutes off the bench, recording the 165th 30-point game of his career—fourth-most in franchise history.

Onyeka Okongwu continued his strong play with 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting, seven rebounds, six assists, a block and a steal in 40 minutes. The USC product set a new career high for points in a quarter, scoring 15 in the opening frame on a perfect 6-of-7 from the field and 3-of-3 from deep.

Vit Krejčí provided a massive spark off the bench, knocking down six three-pointers and finishing with 20 points in just 18 minutes. His fourth game this season with six or more made threes breaks a tie with Klay Thompson for the most such performances by a reserve this year and ties Bogdan Bogdanović (2023–24) for the most by a Hawks reserve in a single season.

Rookie Zaccharie Risacher added 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting, including 4-of-7 from long range, while Dyson Daniels filled the stat sheet with eight points, nine rebounds, nine assists and two steals in 39 minutes.

The Hawks won’t have to wait long for a chance at redemption. Atlanta will host Chicago on Tuesday night as the two teams meet again at State Farm Arena.