The Atlanta Hawks and the Chicago Bulls had one of the best games of the season with their matchup on Sunday. It was the NBA's highest-scoring game of the season, as the Bulls won with a slim 152-150 result.
Unfortunately for the Hawks, they did not win the game even with 150 points. Jalen Johnson and Trae Young scored 71 points as a duo, but it was not enough to beat the Bulls. It was not a good result for Atlanta, as it showed their defensive frailties.
Johnson is embarrassed by the Hawks' performance
The Hawks were supposed to be the favorites heading into the game, especially with Young's second game back. Unfortunately, that did not work out for Atlanta because Chicago had a great game. Neither team played the best defense, but the Hawks were on the wrong end of the result.
As the star player for this team, Johnson took accountability for the result, as he believed his team could have played much better. The first half was disastrous, as they gave up 80 points. That is not the standard that the Hawks want to see.
This does not look good for Young in his return. He did have a great game with 35 points and nine assists, but he was playing under a 26-minute restriction. Johnson did his best to carry the Hawks with 36 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists, but it was not enough. He lamented that the Hawks performed like that in a winnable game.
"It's kind of tough when you're giving up 80 points in the first half. It's kind of embarrassing in a sense. We just gotta get better. We seem them again in two days, so hopefully we can cut down on some of the things we’re doing," Johnson said after the game.
Young's return could pan out well in the long run, but this was only his second game back from injury. The Hawks need to adjust to playing with him and Johnson as the two stars. The future is bright for Atlanta, but they will need to forget the loss against the Bulls on Sunday.