Game ID: 22500396
Chicago Bulls @ Atlanta Hawks
Sunday, December 21, 2025 at 3:30 PM ET
State Farm Arena, Atlanta, GA
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Final
ATL 38 35 42 35 150CHI 38 45 33 36 152
ATL vs CHI ScoutingATL vs CHI Scouting
Welcome to the scouting desk. The coffee is cold, the film is play-by-play, and somebody has to explain what happened.
Every game has a hinge — a stretch where it was decided, usually while everyone was watching something else. Start where the evidence lives: the Lineups' face-offs say which five actually won their minutes; the Possessions ledger says who ran ahead of the night's own pace; the Shot Chart says where the points really came from, which is rarely where the highlights were. When all three agree, that is the story. When they don't — that is why this desk has a chair.
ATL availability going into 12/12 · 5 days' restOUT Young missed 20 since 10/31, out tonight
BACK Porziņģis back 12/05 after 4, 20 min since (84% of 24)
ATL availability going into 12/14 · 1 day's restOUT Young missed 21 since 10/31, out tonight
OUT Porziņģis missed 2 since 12/06, out tonight
ATL availability going into 12/18 · 3 days' restOUT Young missed 22 since 10/31, returns tonight: 20 min (72% of 28)
OUT Porziņģis missed 3 since 12/06, out tonight
ATL availability going into 12/19 · back-to-backOUT Porziņģis missed 4 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/18 after 22, 20 min since (72% of 28)
ATL availability going into 12/21 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 5 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/18 after 22, 20 min since (72% of 28)
ATL availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 6 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/18 after 22, 23 min since (83% of 28)
ATL availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restOUT Porziņģis missed 7 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/18 after 22, 26 min since (92% of 28)
ATL availability going into 12/27 · back-to-backOUT Porziņģis missed 8 since 12/06, out tonight
BACK Young back 12/18 after 22, 27 min since (98% of 28)
ATL availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Porziņģis missed 9 since 12/06, out tonight
CHI availability going into 12/12 · 4 days' restOUT Jones missed 3 since 12/03, returns tonight: 25 min (93% of 27)
OUT Okoro missed 8 since 11/22, returns tonight: 26 min (97% of 27)
OUT Huerter missed 3 since 12/03, out tonight
OUT Smith missed 5 since 11/29, returns tonight: 17 min (81% of 21)
BACK White back 12/05 after 3, 26 min since (88% of 29)
BACK Terry back 12/03 after 5, 18 min since (165% of 11)
NEW Dosunmu 26 to 34 min over the last 4
CHI availability going into 12/14 · 1 day's restOUT Huerter missed 4 since 12/03, returns tonight: 24 min (103% of 24)
BACK White back 12/05 after 3, 27 min since (92% of 29)
BACK Jones back 12/12 after 3, 25 min since (93% of 27)
BACK Okoro back 12/12 after 8, 26 min since (97% of 27)
BACK Smith back 12/12 after 5, 17 min since (81% of 21)
BACK Terry back 12/03 after 5, 17 min since (155% of 11)
NEW Dosunmu 26 to 33 min over the last 3
NEW Carter 11 to 16 min over the last 4
CHI availability going into 12/17 · 2 days' restOUT Dosunmu missed 2 since 12/12, out tonight
OUT Carter missed 2 since 12/12, out tonight
BACK White back 12/05 after 3, 27 min since (94% of 29)
BACK Jones back 12/12 after 3, 25 min since (91% of 27)
BACK Okoro back 12/12 after 8, 25 min since (92% of 27)
BACK Huerter back 12/14 after 4, 24 min since (103% of 24)
BACK Smith back 12/12 after 5, 15 min since (70% of 21)
BACK Terry back 12/03 after 5, 16 min since (148% of 11)
CHI availability going into 12/19 · 1 day's restOUT Dosunmu missed 3 since 12/12, returns tonight: 14 min (53% of 26)
OUT Carter missed 3 since 12/12, out tonight
BACK White back 12/05 after 3, 28 min since (96% of 29)
BACK Jones back 12/12 after 3, 25 min since (91% of 27)
BACK Okoro back 12/12 after 8, 27 min since (100% of 27)
BACK Huerter back 12/14 after 4, 25 min since (106% of 24)
BACK Smith back 12/12 after 5, 15 min since (72% of 21)
CHI availability going into 12/21 · 1 day's restOUT Carter missed 4 since 12/12, out tonight
BACK Jones back 12/12 after 3, 24 min since (89% of 27)
BACK Okoro back 12/12 after 8, 25 min since (93% of 27)
BACK Dosunmu back 12/19 after 3, 14 min since (53% of 26)
BACK Huerter back 12/14 after 4, 23 min since (99% of 24)
BACK Smith back 12/12 after 5, 15 min since (73% of 21)
CHI availability going into 12/23 · 1 day's restOUT Carter missed 5 since 12/12, out tonight
OUT Terry missed 2 since 12/19, out tonight
BACK Jones back 12/12 after 3, 24 min since (88% of 27)
BACK Okoro back 12/12 after 8, 24 min since (88% of 27)
BACK Dosunmu back 12/19 after 3, 15 min since (58% of 26)
BACK Huerter back 12/14 after 4, 23 min since (97% of 24)
BACK Smith back 12/12 after 5, 15 min since (71% of 21)
CHI availability going into 12/26 · 2 days' restOUT Carter missed 6 since 12/12, out tonight
OUT Terry missed 3 since 12/19, out tonight
BACK Dosunmu back 12/19 after 3, 16 min since (59% of 26)
BACK Huerter back 12/14 after 4, 24 min since (100% of 24)
CHI availability going into 12/27 · back-to-backOUT Carter missed 7 since 12/12, out tonight
OUT Terry missed 4 since 12/19, out tonight
BACK Dosunmu back 12/19 after 3, 18 min since (67% of 26)
CHI availability going into 12/29 · 1 day's restOUT Carter missed 8 since 12/12, returns tonight: 5 min (45% of 11)
OUT Terry missed 5 since 12/19, returns tonight: 11 min (98% of 11)
BACK Dosunmu back 12/19 after 3, 18 min since (70% of 26)
I Know — the desk, before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 118 a night and allowing 127, shooting 47 percent and 34 from three, 21 free throws a game; Johnson at 24 and Alexander-Walker at 20 a game. Without Porziņģis (5 straight). One day's rest. Chicago comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 120, shooting 48 percent and 33 from three, 18 free throws a game; Giddey at 19 and White at 18 a game. One day's rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the defense, Chicago allowing 120 a night to Atlanta's 127. Call it Atlanta 121, Chicago 119, Chicago keeping it close.
12/12 @ DET 115-142 — ATL notes
ATL lost 115-142. ATL shot 46% (39 of 85) to DET's 58%, 11 of 36 from three. ATL turned it over 20 times to DET's 12, and DET turned those into 16 steals. Alexander-Walker led with 22 (6 of 14, 4 of 10 from three, 6 of 6 at the line); Johnson added 19, Daniels 18. Q1 was theirs, 33-34, but the other 3 periods went 108-82 against them. Johnson's -25 in 34 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/14 vs PHI 120-117 — ATL notes
ATL won 120-117. ATL shot 43% (43 of 99) to PHI's 38%, 17 of 33 from three, and got to the line 21 times to PHI's 29. ATL turned it over 16 times to PHI's 11, and PHI turned those into 10 steals. Daniels led with 27 (13 of 19); Okongwu added 20, Krejčí 19. The hinge was Q1, 39-29: from level to 10 ahead.
12/18 @ CHA 126-133 — ATL notes
ATL lost 126-133. ATL shot 52% (48 of 92) to CHA's 54%, 11 of 37 from three. Johnson led with 43 (16 of 27, 4 of 9 from three, 7 of 7 at the line); Alexander-Walker added 28, Daniels 14. Q4 was theirs, 31-26, the deficit cut from 12 to 7, but the other 3 periods went 107-95 against them. Daniels's -13 in 32 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/19 vs SAS 98-126 — ATL notes
ATL lost 98-126. ATL shot 40% (38 of 94) to SAS's 54%, 10 of 40 from three. The glass went 43-56 against them. Alexander-Walker led with 23 (7 of 18, 2 of 10 from three, 7 of 9 at the line); J. Johnson added 17, Risacher 11. Q4 was theirs, 26-24, the deficit cut from 30 to 28, but the other 3 periods went 102-72 against them. Alexander-Walker's -27 in 33 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/21 vs CHI 150-152 — ATL notes
ATL lost 150-152. ATL shot 52% (51 of 98) to CHI's 58%, 23 of 47 from three, and got to the line 32 times to CHI's 39. Johnson led with 36 (12 of 20, 2 of 6 from three, 10 of 11 at the line); Young added 35, Okongwu 23. Q3 was theirs, 42-33, the deficit cut from 10 to 1, but the other 3 periods went 119-108 against them. Daniels's -11 in 39 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/23 vs CHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 134, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; Johnson at 25 and Alexander-Walker at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Porziņģis (6 straight). One day's rest. Chicago comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 130 a night and allowing 125, shooting 52 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; White at 20 and Giddey at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Chicago has been plus-2 a night and Atlanta minus-4 and the defense, Chicago allowing 125 a night to Atlanta's 134. Call it Chicago 125, Atlanta 123, Atlanta keeping it close.
12/26 vs MIA — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 123 a night and allowing 131, shooting 48 percent and 38 from three, 22 free throws a game; Johnson at 26 and Young at 22 a game. That is 4 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 5 a night. Without Porziņģis (7 straight). 2 days' rest. Miami comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 107 a night and allowing 115, shooting 43 percent and 36 from three, 24 free throws a game; Powell at 20 and Jaquez Jr. at 17 a game. That is 3 straight losses. Without Herro (5 straight), Larsson (5 straight), Jović (4 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Atlanta wins, and the game turns on the defense, Miami allowing 115 a night to Atlanta's 131 and the glass, where Miami has been plus-0 a night and Atlanta minus-5. Call it Atlanta 120, Miami 118, Miami keeping it close.
12/27 vs NYK — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 133, shooting 48 percent and 35 from three, 22 free throws a game; Johnson at 29 and Young at 24 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 8 a night. Without Porziņģis (8 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. New York comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 117 a night and allowing 119, shooting 47 percent and 41 from three, 20 free throws a game; Brunson at 32 and Bridges at 19 a game. Without McBride (6 straight), Shamet (14 straight). One day's rest.
So: New York wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where New York has been plus-3 a night and Atlanta minus-8 and the defense, New York allowing 119 a night to Atlanta's 133. Call it New York 122, Atlanta 118, Atlanta keeping it close.
12/29 @ OKC — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
OKC comes in 2-3 over its last five, scoring 113 a night and allowing 113, shooting 47 percent and 33 from three, 20 free throws a game; Gilgeous-Alexander at 30 and Jal. Williams at 17 a game. Without J. Williams (6 straight). Second night of a back-to-back. Atlanta comes in 0-5 over its last five, scoring 121 a night and allowing 132, shooting 48 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; Johnson at 24 and Young at 24 a game. That is 5 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 11 a night. Without Porziņģis (9 straight). One day's rest.
So: OKC wins, and the game turns on the defense, OKC allowing 113 a night to Atlanta's 132 and the glass, where OKC has been minus-1 a night and Atlanta minus-11. Call it OKC 122, Atlanta 115.
12/12 @ CHA 129-126 — CHI notes
CHI won 129-126. CHI shot 55% (52 of 94) to CHA's 53%, 10 of 28 from three, and went to the line 19 times to CHA's 10 — 15 points from the stripe to their 8. The glass went 44-32 for them. Giddey led with 26 (10 of 17, 2 of 4 from three); White added 20, Williams 16. The hinge was Q4, 40-34: CHI came in trailing by 3 and left it ahead by 3. CHI trailed 55-61 at the half and won the second half 74-65. Collins was the night's best plus/minus at +17.
12/14 vs NOP 104-114 — CHI notes
CHI lost 104-114. CHI shot 41% (38 of 92) to NOP's 46%, 13 of 49 from three, and got to the line 17 times to NOP's 25. The glass went 43-53 against them. White led with 20 (8 of 18, 1 of 10 from three); Huerter added 16, Vučević 12. Q1 was theirs, 26-21, but the other 3 periods went 93-78 against them. Williams's -13 in 24 minutes was the worst on the floor.
12/17 vs CLE 127-111 — CHI notes
CHI won 127-111. CHI shot 56% (50 of 89) to CLE's 48%, 14 of 36 from three. CHI turned it over 15 times to CLE's 20. White led with 25 (8 of 13, 3 of 5 from three, 6 of 7 at the line); Giddey added 23, Vučević 20. The hinge was Q4, 32-23: a lead of 7 became 16, and the lead reached 19. Jones was the night's best plus/minus at +20.
12/19 @ CLE 136-125 — CHI notes
CHI won 136-125. CHI shot 52% (53 of 102) to CLE's 48%, 18 of 47 from three. Buzelis led with 24 (9 of 15, 2 of 8 from three, 4 of 6 at the line); Vučević added 24, Giddey 17. The hinge was Q2, 34-23: from level to 11 ahead. Jones was the night's best plus/minus at +18.
12/21 @ ATL 152-150 — CHI notes
CHI won 152-150. CHI shot 58% (53 of 92) to ATL's 52%, 20 of 42 from three, and went to the line 39 times to ATL's 32 — 26 points from the stripe to their 25. Buzelis led with 28 (10 of 11, 7 of 8 from three); White added 21, Giddey 19. The hinge was Q2, 45-35: from level to 10 ahead. Huerter was the night's best plus/minus at +9.
12/23 @ ATL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Atlanta comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 122 a night and allowing 134, shooting 47 percent and 37 from three, 24 free throws a game; Johnson at 25 and Alexander-Walker at 19 a game. That is 3 straight losses. It has lost the glass by 4 a night. Without Porziņģis (6 straight). One day's rest. Chicago comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 130 a night and allowing 125, shooting 52 percent and 37 from three, 22 free throws a game; White at 20 and Giddey at 19 a game. That is 3 straight wins. One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, on the road, and the game turns on the glass, where Chicago has been plus-2 a night and Atlanta minus-4 and the defense, Chicago allowing 125 a night to Atlanta's 134. Call it Chicago 125, Atlanta 123, Atlanta keeping it close.
12/26 vs PHI — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 129 a night and allowing 125, shooting 52 percent and 37 from three, 23 free throws a game; White at 21 and Vučević at 18 a game. That is 4 straight wins. 2 days' rest. Philadelphia comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 112, shooting 42 percent and 35 from three, 32 free throws a game; Embiid at 29 and Maxey at 27 a game. Without Oubre Jr. (16 straight), Watford (11 straight). 2 days' rest.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the defense, Philadelphia allowing 112 a night to Chicago's 125 and the line, where Philadelphia takes 32 free throws a game to Chicago's 23. Call it Chicago 120, Philadelphia 119, Philadelphia keeping it close.
12/27 vs MIL — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 5-0 over its last five, scoring 130 a night and allowing 122, shooting 52 percent and 39 from three, 25 free throws a game; White at 19 and Giddey at 18 a game. That is 5 straight wins. It has won the glass by 5 a night. Second night of a back-to-back. Milwaukee comes in 1-4 over its last five, scoring 100 a night and allowing 112, shooting 44 percent and 32 from three, 20 free throws a game; Porter Jr. at 18 and Rollins at 16 a game. Without Gia. Antetokounmpo (8 straight), Prince (23 straight). Second night of a back-to-back.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the defense, Milwaukee allowing 112 a night to Chicago's 122 and the turnovers, Milwaukee giving it away 18 times a game to Chicago's 13. Call it Chicago 121, Milwaukee 113.
12/29 vs MIN — I Know, the desk before tip-off
Written before tip-off, from the five games each side brought in.
Chicago comes in 4-1 over its last five, scoring 125 a night and allowing 122, shooting 49 percent and 38 from three, 25 free throws a game; White at 17 and Buzelis at 17 a game. It has won the glass by 6 a night. One day's rest. Minnesota comes in 3-2 over its last five, scoring 115 a night and allowing 115, shooting 44 percent and 33 from three, 30 free throws a game; Edwards at 32 and Randle at 20 a game. One day's rest.
So: Chicago wins, and the game turns on the glass, where Chicago has been plus-6 a night and Minnesota minus-3 and the arc, Chicago at 38 percent from three to Minnesota's 33. Call it Chicago 119, Minnesota 118, Minnesota keeping it close.
Who is who
the initials in the Players column
ATLAN A. Newell
DD D. Daniels
JJ J. Johnson
LK L. Kennard
MG M. Gueye
NA N. Alexander-Walker
OO O. Okongwu
TY T. Young
VK V. Krejčí
ZR Z. Risacher
CHIAD A. Dosunmu
CW C. White
IO I. Okoro
JG J. Giddey
JS J. Smith
KH K. Huerter
MB M. Buzelis
NV N. Vučević
PW P. Williams
TJ T. Jones
VU Vucevic
ZC Z. Collins
ATL/CHI the team itself, not a player
-- the feed named nobody
What
What happened
the codes in the Events column
M2 / M3 made 2 / made 3
X2 / X3 missed 2 / missed 3
FT / X1 free throw made / missed
AST assist
OR / DR offensive / defensive rebound
STL steal
BLK block
TO turnover
FL foul
OF offensive foul — ends the possession
VIOL violation
JUMP jump ball
TM timeout
IR instant replay
HE heave at the buzzer, filed to the team
END the clock ran out, ball in hand
Where
Where a shot came from
the middle field of M3.LW.25
RM at the rim inside 4 ft
RC right corner
RW right wing
SO straight on
LW left wing
LC left corner
M3.LW.25 made 3, left wing, 25 ft
X2.RM.01 missed 2, at the rim, 1 ft
When
When it happened
the Offset column
one number per event, in the Events order:
whole seconds from the start of the
possession to that event
Events FL X3.RC.23 OR M2.RM.01
Offset 0 18 22 24
the foul opens the possession at 0s;
the putback ends it at 24s, which is
the possession's own Dur
Bulls beat the Hawks 152-150 in the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season
ATLANTA -- — Matas Buzelis scored 28 points to lead nine Chicago players in double figures and the Bulls outlasted the Atlanta Hawks 152-150 on Sunday in the highest-scoring game in the NBA this season.
Chicago set season highs for points in a first half and game and held on in the closing seconds in the first of two straight games in Atlanta. The teams will meet again Tuesday night.
The Bulls also were involved in the previous highest-scoring game this season, a 150-147 double-overtime loss at Utah on Nov. 16. Golden State beat Denver 162-158 on Nov. 2, 1990 in the highest-scoring regulation game in NBA history.
The Bulls topped their previous high for points in a first half in taking an 83-73 halftime lead. They scored 72 first-half points in a 128-122 loss at Cleveland on Nov. 8. The Bulls also set a season scoring high for a game, topping their total in a 150-147 loss at Utah on Nov. 16.
Jalen Johnson led Atlanta with 36 points, and Trae Young had a season-high 35. The Hawks have lost three straight and seven of nine to fall back to .500 at 15-15.
Johnson’s 3-pointer with five seconds remaining gave the Bulls a 151-150 lead. Buzelis made one of two free throws with 4.2 seconds remaining before Young missed a last-second jumper.
Buzelis made a career-high seven 3-pointers in eight attempts for the hot-shooting Bulls. They have won three straight to improve to 13-15.
Onyeka Okongwu had 23 points and Vit Krejci added 20 for Atlanta.
Young started for the second time in three games after missing 21 games with a right MCL sprain. Coach Quin Snyder said Young will need a continued “acclimation process” to be ready to play back-to-back games.
Bulls guard Coby White had 21 points after being considered questionable with a sore left ankle. Josh Giddey had 19 points and 12 assists.
Hawks center Kristaps Porzingis (illness) missed his sixth straight game. The Hawks announced that two-way forward Eli Ndiaye will have season-ending surgery for a torn labrum suffered in a G League game with College Park on Dec. 9.