The Atlanta Hawks returned home last night against the Chicago Bulls after a tough loss to the Detroit Pistons.

Early in the game, head coach Quin Synder made several early substitutions due to the heavy legs of back-to-back games and because the Hawks were playing their fifth game in seven nights. The Hawks are once again playing without Bogdan Bogdanovic, De’Andre Hunter, Kobe Buffin and Vit Krejci.

Dyson Daniel has continued his strong defensive work for the Hawks as he leads the NBA with 3.0 steals. He also leads the league with 25 total steals. He added to that total tonight with six steals after having seven against the Pistons the night before. Daniel has active hands and plays very physically as he fights through screens with extreme intensity during games.

Daniels was mainly paired with fellow countryman Josh Giddey. Daniels held Giddey to 13 points, almost exactly his season average of 13.6 points per game. Daniels also scored 16 points and eight rebounds.

Clint Capela had his best first quarter of the season with 10 points and four rebounds. Capela went 3-for-4 on field goals and an even 4-for-4 on free throws. Capela scored with his right and left hand while dominating the paint. He finished the first half with 16 points and 4 rebounds. Capela finished the game with 20 points and nine rebounds.

Trae Young was great early on as the Hawks had seven field goals and Trae assisted on six of them at the 6:25 mark of the first quarter.

Even more impressive, Young attempted just one shot in the game with 7:35 left in the first half and the Hawks led by 10. Young controlled the game for the Hawks as he finished the half with 10 assists and eight points. The ball placement was very good as he made it very easy for his teammate, and it was a big reason why the Hawks scored 70 points in the first half.

Tonight Young’s was 214^e double-double of his career, as he now sits sixth on the Hawks all-time list. Young finished the game with 14 points and 16 assists.

The Hawks scored 37 points in the opening quarter on 57% shooting. Onyeka Okongwu started the second quarter with a three-pointer in the second quarter. Onyeka went 2-for-13 on 3-pointers before making his third shot of the season.

Zaccharie Risacher continues to play aggressively and made fourteen shots that night. The rookie does a great job of attacking the play even when he’s not scoring, making him a threat all game long. He was fouled on a three-point attempt midway through the second, but went 2-for-3.

The rookie seems unfazed by all the pressure that comes with playing in the NBA, which was a huge spark with all the injuries. He leads all rookies in scoring with 11.5 points per game. Risacher finished the game with 17 points.

Jalen Johnson has been a guy playing against guys lately, as he was a few rebounds away from producing 20 points and 10 rebounds or more this week. Johnson was the team’s second leading scorer with 13 points at halftime. He finished the night with 20 points and six rebounds.

Johnson did well in transition tonight as he was on the receiving end of lobs for Young several times tonight. He continues to show why he earned that huge contract before the season started. The Hawks averaged 26 free throws per game and they nearly surpassed their average in the first half with 21 as they attacked the Bulls and didn’t settle for free throws.

The Hawks were successful early tonight because of their ability to score in the paint and shut down the Bulls’ three-point attempts. Fatigue is starting to set in as the Hawks would score 17 points in the fourth as the Bulls took control in the second half.

The number of games in a short period of time and the injuries ran their course tonight as the Hawks did not have enough energy to finish the game. The Hawks scored just 15 points in the fourth quarter, while the Bulls scored 35. The Bulls defeated the Hawks 47-39 tonight as they used that to their advantage to outscore the Hawks in fastbreak points 23-12.

The Hawks will play games next week that count towards the NBA Cup. There are five teams in each group division. The Hawks are in East Group C with the Boston Celtics, Chicago Bulls, Cleveland Cavaliers and Washington Wizards.

The games start with the Celtics on November 12, November 15 vs Wizards, November 22 vs Bulls and November 29 against the Cavaliers.

The NBA Cup is the same as last season, meaning if you win your group, you are in and there is a wildcard. So in total there will be four teams in the east and west respectively. The final four will be played in Las Vegas as they will play 83 matches including the championship. For the teams that don’t make it, one or two games will be moved.