Sunday night, the Hawks and Bulls staged a game to remember that was defined in a breath. Watch the video.
The most important basketball league in the world has once again left one of those moments to remember. And is that the match between the Atlanta Falcons and the Chicago Bulls it was defined literally at the last second, with some rarely seen peculiarities. When the timer began to chime, the scoreboard ticked a two-point gap in favor of the Hawks and all seemed said, but much remained to be decided.
The game had been planned from the start, so much so that both teams reached the end of the game without making a difference, and had to go to extra time to define a winner. In this overtime, the Atlanta team was able to show its best version to the point of leading in several sections, but was unable to close the game. With ten seconds left, the teams didn’t take advantage of each other, until he appeared Trae Youngwho knew how to manage the times with a calm worthy of a veteran.
The Hawks point guard took possession of the ball, and when just a second separated the teams from second overtime, Young had the job of closing the game with a double that blew up the team. State Farm Arena. When all seemed to be said, the Bulls took advantage of what would be their last break, planned their last offensive and DeMar DeRozan his last chip was a test from the line of threes. The field missed the board, but DeRozan won the foul and the celebrations turned to uncertainty.
Now, the clock showed 0.5 seconds left and Chicago had three shots from the free throw line to try and turn the story around. DeRozan took care of the shots and didn’t miss any of his runs. Now, the Bulls were ahead, the scoreboard said 122-121, and last ball would be for the Hawks. In between, Atlanta was taking advantage of its last timeout, and the strategy was clear: look for the alley-oop and the entry of AJ Griffin.
Jalen Johnson retook the action and, with a good pass, placed Griffin under the backboard. The Hawks rookie received in the air and with spectacular half lap, he transformed the victory double, right on the siren. In a more than changeable game, Griffin converted and sealed the final 123-122, with which Atlanta would be able to settle in sixth place in the Eastern Conference, where it holds a record of 14 wins and 13 losses.
For the Bulls, however, it would be the 15th loss so far this season, thus leaving them with a negative record of 11 wins and 15 losses.. Chicago seemed to have signed the epic in Hawks territory, but with Atlanta figures on the court, you couldn’t celebrate until the buzzer sounded. Thanks to DeRozan’s leadership, Chicago was one step away from winning again, but everything was extinguished in a matter of seconds, and the Bulls were relegated to the Eastern Conference, where they rank eleventh.
