NBA Game Summary - Chicago at Atlanta

Atlanta, GA (Basketball News) - Chris Duhon knocked down a team-record eight three-pointers and scored a career-high 24 points, as Chicago rallied from a 19-point second-half deficit to post a 114-105 win over lowly Atlanta at Philips Arena.

Andres Nocioni added 19 points and Kirk Hinrich contributed 17 points and nine assists for the Bulls, who have won two straight games. Ben Gordon netted 16 points off the bench in the win.

"It was definitely huge for us to win this game," said Hinrich.

Chicago increased its lead to 1 1/2 games over idle Washington for the all- important No. 4 spot in the Eastern Conference that will garner them homecourt advantage in the first round of the playoffs.

Tony Delk scored 18 points and Josh Childress added 17 points and 10 rebounds for the Hawks, who have dropped three straight and 30 of their past 32 contests.

The Bulls led by two points after three quarters, but blew the game open early in the fourth.

Chicago opened the final period by scoring 17 of the first 22 points to seize a 101-87 cushion. Gordon netted two threes while Nocioni hit a pair of free throws with 7:10 left in the game to cap the spurt and make it a 14-point contest.

The Bulls were never seriously threatened again and led by as many as 18 points in the final minutes.

Chicago outscored the Hawks 66-42 in the second half en route to the blowout win. The Bulls shot 49 percent for the game, but made 53 percent of their second-half shots, while Atlanta hit on 47 percent of its attempts for the game, but connected on just 17-of-41 shots in the final 24 minutes.

"The second-half comeback was real big for us," said Duhon. "Now we are in the drivers seat for homecourt advantage. The only way we can mess it up is if we beat ourselves."

The Hawks trailed by seven points late in the first quarter before they reeled off 11 straight points, keyed by five points from Delk, to claim a 25-21 edge. Atlanta eventually led 29-22 after one.

In the second, Tom Gugliotta’s three-pointer with 5:02 remaining in the half stretched the lead to 46-36. The Hawks then led by seven in the waning minutes of the period, but ended the quarter on an 8-0 run to seize a 15-point lead. Delk’s three-pointer from just over halfcourt as time ran out gave Atlanta a 63-48 advantage heading into the locker room.

Delk netted 15 points for the Hawks, who hit a blistering 52 percent of their shots in the first half. Nocioni scored 12 for Chicago, which made 19-of-42 attempts in the opening 24 minutes.

Atlanta picked up where it left off at the intermission as it scored the first four points of the third quarter to widen the gap to a seemingly comfortable 19 points.

However, the Bulls quickly rallied and closed within 73-65 on Duhon’s three- pointer with 5:43 remaining in the quarter. Chicago then trailed 80-68 moments later, but reeled off 14 straight points, capped by Gordon’s jumper in the final minute, to claim an 82-80 lead. Gordon had six points during the critical run and Duhon added three as the Bulls outscored the Hawks 34-19 in the third period.

Chicago went into the final stanza with an 84-82 edge.