Atlanta; Thursday, 7 p.m. EST
BOTTOM LINE: A pair of the league’s best scorers, Trae Young and DeMar DeRozan, meet when Atlanta and Chicago hit the court. Young ranks fifth in the NBA averaging 27.9 points per game and DeRozan is fourth in the league averaging 28.2 points per game.
The Hawks are 18-20 against conference opponents. Atlanta is the top team in the Eastern Conference shooting 37.4% from deep, led by Gorgui Dieng shooting 42.9% from 3-point range.
The Bulls are 24-14 in conference play. Chicago is 4-4 in games decided by less than 4 points.
The teams meet for the fourth time this season. The Bulls won 112-108 in the last matchup on Feb. 25. DeRozan led the Bulls with 37 points, and Bogdan Bogdanovic led the Hawks with 27 points.
TOP PERFORMERS: Young is averaging 27.9 points and 9.3 assists for the Hawks. Bogdanovic is averaging 18.4 points over the last 10 games for Atlanta.
DeRozan is shooting 51.6% and averaging 28.2 points for the Bulls. Nikola Vucevic is averaging 19.4 points over the last 10 games for Chicago.
LAST 10 GAMES: Hawks: 4-6, averaging 114.4 points, 43.9 rebounds, 24.0 assists, 7.7 steals and 4.8 blocks per game while shooting 47.0% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 112.5 points per game.
Bulls: 6-4, averaging 115.9 points, 44.0 rebounds, 22.4 assists, 6.0 steals and 3.7 blocks per game while shooting 50.1% from the field. Their opponents have averaged 114.1 points.
INJURIES: Hawks: John Collins: day to day (foot), Lou Williams: out (hip).
Bulls: Patrick Williams: out (left wrist), Alex Caruso: out (wrist), Lonzo Ball: out (knee).
