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Bulls-Hawks Preview

Jan 8, 2016 - 6:50 PM Not long ago, the Chicago Bulls seemed to be stuck in neutral as coach Fred Hoiberg's supposed up-tempo offense wasn't generating much scoring.

Just two and a half weeks later, the Bulls are in the midst of their best run of the season.

Jimmy Butler and Pau Gasol look to continue their stellar play as visiting Chicago tries to extend its winning streak to seven Saturday night against the inconsistent Atlanta Hawks.

The Bulls (22-12) have averaged 107.9 points in winning seven of eight after scoring 100.4 per game prior to that stretch, which had led to speculation that Chicago wasn't buying into Hoiberg's system.

The Bulls have reached the 100 mark in nine consecutive games for the first time since an 11-game run in December 1995.

''It feels good, but we can't settle,'' Butler said. ''We've got to continue to win games, try to build upon it, just keep playing basketball the right way.''

Butler has certainly been doing that, averaging 28.8 points and 7.0 assists in his last five games. He had his worst offensive performance of that stretch Thursday by going 5 of 14 from the field, but scored 19 and tied a career high with 10 assists for the second straight contest as Chicago won its sixth in a row, 101-92 over visiting Boston.

Pau Gasol also didn't have a great shooting night, going 8 of 19, but finished with 17 points, 18 rebounds and four assists. He's averaged 20.7 points, 14.0 boards and 5.0 assists in the last three games.

Gasol totaled 40 points and 28 rebounds in the last two meetings with the Hawks in 2014-15.

The Bulls rallied from an 18-point deficit to beat Atlanta 91-85 on April 15 in their regular-season finale, avoiding a sweep in the three-game series.

The inconsistent Hawks haven't been able to attain the level of play that carried them to 60 wins last season. They have seven and six-game winning streaks but also dropped 11 of 18 from Nov. 9-Dec. 14.

Atlanta had lost three of four before ending a two-game skid with a 126-98 win at Philadelphia on Thursday. Kent Bazemore had 22 points and Paul Millsap and Al Horford scored 18 apiece as the Hawks shot 53.3 percent and made 13 of 31 from 3-point range.

''A two-game losing streak is not fun,'' coach Mike Budenholzer said. ''Really good teams and teams with a lot of pride and character, you don't ever want to catch them after one loss.''

Bazemore has averaged 20.3 points while hitting 15 of 30 from 3-point range in his last four games. Jeff Teague, though, has totaled 32 points and seven assists in his past three while shooting 39.3 percent.

The Hawks (22-15) were better defensively Thursday - albeit against a woeful opponent - with 22 turnovers forced after they had allowed 111.0 points per game over their previous three.

Atlanta has dropped seven of the past nine meetings with Chicago, which is expected to be without Joakim Noah for an ninth straight game due to a sprained left shoulder.