Smith takes All-Star snub out on Bulls in Hawks win

By Matt Winkeljohn, for NBA.com
Posted Saturday February 6, 2010 12:17AM

ATLANTA (Exclusive to NBA.com) -- Josh Smith didn't make it to the All-Star game, but when he got a chance to play for a sold-out crowd Friday night, it looked like he made the Bulls pay for it.

Smith registered his second career triple-double with 18 points, 14 rebounds and 10 assists and helped key Atlanta's lock-down defense in the fourth quarter as the Hawks beat the Bulls 91-81 at Philips Arena.

The visitors looked like they had a shot at snapping a two-game losing streak when the Bulls put the clamps on the Hawks with a superb third quarter that left Chicago ahead 70-64 at the end of the period.

Then, the Hawks asserted themselves on both ends of the court with a 16-2 blitzkrieg over the first 7:03 of the final quarter to take an 80-72 lead with 4:53 to go. They were hardly threatened from there.

Jamal Crawford, who scored 17 points to support 18 each by Smith and Joe Johnson, made the layup that prompted a Chicago timeout, but in that sequence, Smith scored five points, had four rebounds and one of his two steals.

"Phenomenal. Josh Smith has probably been our MVP," Atlanta coach Mike Woodson said of a player whose teammates Johnson and Al Horford made the All-Star team. "I just wish he would've made that All-Star team because he's played like an All-Star."

The Bulls trailed by four at halftime, and didn't lead until they dominated the third quarter, outscoring Atlanta 24-14. It was hard to tell Chicago was without Joakim Noah, who missed the game with plantar fasciitis in his left foot.

Yet Chicago out-rebounded the Hawks 14-9 in the third period, despite Atlanta's starters playing big minutes in the quarter. Atlanta hit just six of 21 shots to fall behind by six as Derrick Rose scored eight of his 19 points and added two assists.

The young point guard was breaking down Atlanta's defense with the dribble.

"We played pretty well for three quarters, and hung in there," said Chicago coach Vinny Del Negro. "But in the fourth quarter they showed why they are one of the better teams in the league."

In the final quarter, the Bulls wore down.

Del Negro deployed just eight players on the night, and one was Devin Brown, who was playing in just his third game with Chicago since being traded from New Orleans. Del Negro said before the game that he anticipated playing forward Chris Richard, who was just signed to a 10-day contract from the D-League, but Richard never left the bench.

Brad Miller, Kirk Hinrich and Rose all played at least 39:24 or more in the game.

On defense, the Hawks corralled Rose in the final period as Chicago's offense was out of whack.

"We were able to keep Derrick Rose out of the paint, and . . . make them shoot jump shots," Smith said. "I'm happy to get my second career triple-double, but it feels better to get a win."

Atlanta did not turn the ball over in the fourth quarter, when the Hawks out-scored Chicago 27-11, but the key to the period -- and in turn the game -- came inside, where the Bulls ran out of gas.

Smith grabbed eight of his game-high rebound total in the final quarter, when the Hawks out-rebounded the Bulls 17-9.

Without Noah, who is third in the NBA in rebounding (12 per game), and third in offensive rebounding (3.8), Chicago managed just one offensive rebound in the fourth even though the Bulls missed 13 of 18 shots.

Joe Johnson would rather Atlanta not wait so long to tighten the screws.

"Maybe it's desperation," he said. "I think throughout the game, we kind of messed around, thinking we still had a chance to win. That might come back to haunt us, though. Josh was unbelievable."

Rose was stumped.

"In the fourth quarter, they just seemed to catch fire. They were hitting big shots, and playing harder than we were," he said. "I think we missed Joakim tonight. He definitely helps us on the interior, and could have really helped.

"They seemed to try to keep the ball out of my hands a lot. They did a lot of switches, which makes it tough for us offensively."

• Bulls: James, Noah
• Hawks: Morris

• Bulls: --
• Hawks: --

• Lead Changes: 4
• Times Tied: 5

• Arena: Philips Arena, Atlanta, GA
• Officials: #57 Greg Willard, #30 Tony Brown, #67 John Goble
• Attendance: 18729
• Duration: 2:22