"In the second quarter, they got loose and we couldn't stop it after that. We got beat in every facet. Defense wasn't any good, and our rebounding was poor."
ATLANTA — Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau better not examine the second-quarter stats too long, or he might puke.
The Hawks had 11 assists — and turned it over once. Former Bull Kyle Korver nailed 3 of 4 3-point attempts. Al Horford made 5 of 5 shots. The Bulls coughed up the ball seven times.
Josh Smith sent home an alley-oop over Carlos Boozer. Kirk Hinrich hit the side of the backboard on a corner jumper. Marco Belinelli committed an obvious charge near the basket, then had a 3-point try swatted.
Should we go on? Suffice to say the Hawks took control in the second quarter Saturday night and never let go, blowing away the Bulls 92-75.
"They steamrolled us in the second quarter," Hinrich said. "We dug a big hole and weren't able to get out of it."
After expending a ton of energy to beat the Knicks on Friday night, the Bulls suffered just their second double-digit loss of the season.
"The highs and lows in this game are unbelievable, man," Joakim Noah said. "One night you feel great because you win a big game and then the next night you come out with the wrong mindset.
"Our energy was bad, and we settled for too many shots early in the clock. When you're tired, sometimes you have to move the ball (more)."
The Bulls had to play to the last minute Friday in New York, allowing the Knicks to crawl back by allowing 45 points in the fourth quarter.
But if the Bulls were running on fumes, it was not reflected in Saturday's first-quarter score: Chicago 21, Atlanta 17.
And besides, as Thibodeau pointed out, the Hawks also traveled after a Friday night game. They flew home from Philadelphia.
"It's a 'will' game," Thibodeau said. "In the second quarter, they got loose and we couldn't stop it after that. We got beat in every facet. Defense wasn't any good, and our rebounding was poor."
After outscoring the Bulls 36-16 in the second quarter, the Hawks put the game away on a Lou Williams layup that made it 72-47.
The only fourth-quarter drama was whether bench-warmer Vladimir Radmanovic would score (he did, draining a 3) and whether it would go down as the Bulls' most lopsided loss of the season (it did not). That remains the 101-80 drubbing at the Clippers on Nov. 17.
The Bulls' top scorer Saturday was Luol Deng, and he finished with just 11 points on 5-for-14 shooting. But at least he was able to play after injuring his left shoulder in New York on an emphatic Jason Kidd strip.
Taj Gibson overcame an ankle injury to play 17-plus minutes.
Noah, who finished with 10 points, nine rebounds and six turnovers, said: "We got our asses kicked. It's tough, but you have to move on and get ready for Christmas."
tgreenstein@tribune.com
Twitter @TeddyGreenstein
Hawks blow out listless Bulls 92-75
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Hawks blow out listless Bulls 92-75
