Hawks lose to Bulls in Elam End of overtime, 103-99

The Summer League Hawks were looking to secure their first win of the 2024 season again. Zaccharie Risacher and Mouhamed Gueye missed this game due to injuries, but Dylan Windler made his return after a one-game absence.

Keaton Wallace warmed up the game with a pull-up three-pointer.

Like the last few games, the Hawks started slowly, while the Bulls quickly took an 18-7 lead after a series of three-pointers.

Lottery pick Matas Buzelis came off the bench — for some reason — with Chicago already up by two to make matters worse. However, Atlanta was able to rally with their bench unit and trailed by just seven points after the first 10-minute quarter, 24-17.

EJ Liddell continued to fight for a spot in the rotation next season, scoring some tough goals, like this one.

The shorthanded Hawks did what they could to stay in the game, trading baskets with the Bulls in the second quarter. Unfortunately, untimely turnovers gave Chicago many easy transition buckets, keeping Atlanta at bay for the duration.

Atlanta was never able to slow down the Bulls defense and as a result they gave up 58 points in 20 minutes of the first half.

Trailing 58-44, the Hawks needed to come into halftime with an energy advantage. However, it quickly became apparent that Atlanta still had no answers defensively in the third quarter.

But a late revival in attack saw them nearly even in the fourth quarter: 76-68.

In the opening moments of the fourth quarter, the Hawks finally came alive on defense, forcing turnovers and picking up a few easy runout points the other way. Within a minute, the Hawks had pulled within a 1-point deficit.

Now in a dogfight, Atlanta had the Bulls stunned and continued to push the pace and force the issue, including taking the lead for a stretch. But a cold spell gave Chicago a chance to retake the lead, and they did indeed seize it,

In the final minutes, the teams traded leads. Down by one, Jarkel Joiner fired a shot into the corner and, although he missed, an offensive rebound gave Atlanta another chance. Eventually, the ball found Jordan Bowden for a big three-pointer, giving the Hawks a two-point lead.

But a foul near halfcourt on the defense gave Chicago two open three-pointers, which they made. Nick Ongenda had a chance to catch a sideline lob and throw it in to win the game in regulation, but it wasn’t to be.

And so the two teams moved into the new overtime format with the score tied at 96-96.

In overtime, with the help of the Elam Ending, the Hawks and Bulls traded three-pointers on the first possession to build the suspense, but a bucket from DJ Steward finally ended the game, 103-99.

Keaton Wallace led the Hawks with 22 points and seven assists. Dylan Windler added 17 points and seven rebounds. The Hawks will face the New York Knicks in their final game in Las Vegas on Sunday and will be hoping to end on a high.