Bulls Rally in Thriller to Stun Hawks in Atlanta 126-123

It wasn’t supposed to end this way. Not when the Atlanta Hawks were cruising with an 18-point lead over the Bulls in the second quarter. Not even when they held a comfortable 10-point cushion with under six minutes left in the game. But in the NBA, momentum is a fickle thing, and on Tuesday night at State Farm Arena, the Bulls proved that resilience can be just as potent as a hot shooting hand.

Behind a masterful triple-double from Josh Giddey and clutch late-game heroics from Coby White, Chicago stormed back to steal a 126-123 victory, leaving the home crowd in stunned silence. It was the kind of gritty, ugly, beautiful win that defines a season—a reminder that until the final buzzer sounds, this team simply refuses to go quietly.

Josh Giddey Orchestrates the Comeback

While the scoring column often grabs the headlines, the heartbeat of this victory was Josh Giddey. The Australian guard was everywhere, tallying 19 points, a career-high-tying 15 assists, and 11 rebounds for his seventh triple-double of the season.

Every time the Bulls seemed on the verge of letting the game slip away, Giddey made a play. Whether it was a laser pass to a cutting teammate or a contested rebound in traffic, his fingerprints were all over the comeback. His ability to control the pace kept Chicago composed during Atlanta’s furious runs, particularly when Trae Young and Jalen Johnson were threatening to blow the game open.

“We just stuck with it,” Giddey said postgame, his exhaustion evident but masked by a grin. That persistence is becoming a hallmark of this squad, and Giddey is quickly establishing himself as the engine that makes them go.

Coby White’s Ice-Cold Finish

If Giddey was the engine, Coby White was the closer. White finished with a team-high 24 points, but none were bigger than the free throw he sank with just 1.9 seconds remaining.

The sequence was chaotic. After Atlanta’s Nickeil Alexander-Walker tied the game at 123-all with a driving layup, the Bulls had mere seconds to respond. A foul by Zaccaharie Risacher sent White to the line. The pressure was immense—a deafening arena, the game on the line—but White stepped up and calmly drained the first to break the tie.

It’s easier said than done, but that mental toughness is what separates good players from great ones in crunch time.

Vucevic and the Supporting Cast Step Up

You can’t talk about this win without mentioning Nikola Vucevic. The veteran big man was a rock in the paint, contributing 21 points and 10 rebounds. His steady presence provided a necessary counterbalance to the frenetic energy of the Hawks’ young stars.

Sophomore Matas Buzelis also chipped in with a vital 15 points, showing flashes of the potential that has the front office excited. And then there was the scuffle—a brief shoving match between Ayo Dosunmu and Trae Young that resulted in technical fouls. It was a flashpoint that seemed to wake the Bulls up, injecting a dose of necessary aggression into a team that was fighting uphill all night.

A Heartbreaker for the Hawks

For Atlanta, this loss stings. Jalen Johnson was spectacular, flirting with a triple-double of his own (24 points, 10 assists, 9 rebounds), and Trae Young did Trae Young things, dishing out 15 assists to go with his 22 points.

But they couldn’t close. The Hawks committed costly turnovers down the stretch and failed to contain the Bulls’ 19-6 run to end the game. The absence of Dyson Daniels due to hip inflammation was felt defensively, but ultimately, this was a collapse born of execution errors in the final minutes.

Alexander-Walker’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer fell short, sealing a result that felt improbable for most of the night.

What This Means for Chicago

This win is a validation of the team’s fighting spirit. Comebacks of this magnitude build character. They forge trust in the huddle.

When the Bulls look back on this season, this game in Atlanta might stand out as a turning point. It proved they can weather the storm, take a punch, and still find a way to be the last team standing.

The road ahead doesn’t get easier, but for one night in Atlanta, the Bulls showed they have the heart to handle whatever comes next.