The Bulls Scored 152 Points and Nearly Lost: Chicago Survives Atlanta's Last Shot in a 302-Point Track Meet

ATLANTA: The Chicago Bulls scored 152 points Sunday afternoon.

They needed every one.

With the Hawks trailing by two on the game's final possession, Trae Young floated a running attempt toward the basket.

The shot reached the rim, moved around it and fell away.

Chicago survived.

The Bulls defeated Atlanta 152–150 in one of the NBA season's most extraordinary offensive contests, winning their third consecutive game and demonstrating both the possibilities and vulnerabilities of their fast-paced approach.

Matas Buzelis scored 28 points while making 10 of 11 field-goal attempts.

Nine Bulls players reached double figures.

And Chicago generated enough offense to overcome a Hawks team that refused to stop scoring.

The result offered a remarkable contradiction.

The Bulls' offense was functioning at an exceptional level.

Their defense still allowed 150 points.

Buzelis makes nearly everything

Buzelis' 28-point performance was one of the afternoon's defining individual contributions.

His 10-for-11 shooting represented extraordinary efficiency.

A player who misses only one attempt while scoring 28 points does not simply benefit from volume.

He creates substantial value from the possessions he receives.

For Chicago, that efficiency matters because Buzelis is part of the organization's younger core.

The Bulls have invested significant developmental attention in his combination of size, athleticism and offensive versatility.

Against Atlanta, he demonstrated how effective he can become when he identifies productive scoring opportunities and finishes them.

The performance also benefited from Chicago's broader offensive approach.

The Bulls repeatedly moved the basketball and created situations in which several players could contribute.

The result was not a one-man scoring exhibition.

Nine different players reached double figures.

That distribution made Chicago difficult to defend.

The pace never slows

Chicago's offense thrives when it can move quickly, advance the basketball and create scoring chances before opponents fully establish their half-court defense.

Against Atlanta, that approach became the defining feature of the contest.

The Hawks were willing participants.

Rather than slowing the game, Atlanta repeatedly answered Chicago's scoring with offense of its own.

The result was a matchup in which defensive possessions became increasingly valuable precisely because they were so difficult to complete successfully.

A missed shot, a turnover or a failed transition opportunity could create immediate consequences.

Both teams continued generating points.

Chicago reached 152.

Atlanta reached 150.

The combined 302 points were remarkable even within a league increasingly comfortable with high-scoring games.

Chicago’s 41 assists showed how widely the scoring was shared. Giddey supplied twelve of them, while White, Huerter and Jones each added five. The Bulls converted 53 field goals, and most of those makes had an assist attached. That distribution gave Buzelis opportunities within a passing offense rather than requiring him to manufacture every shot himself.

The supporting production had different forms. Huerter made four threes on the way to 16 points; Dosunmu supplied 13 off the bench, Collins scored ten, and Jones finished with eleven while making all seven of his free throws. Chicago’s reserves were supplying perimeter shots, interior finishes and points at the line, instead of relying on one repeatable scoring action.

Atlanta’s response came from several directions, too. Jalen Johnson scored 36 with eleven rebounds and nine assists. Young added 35 and nine assists, while Vít Krejčí hit six three-pointers. The Hawks made 23 triples to Chicago’s twenty, keeping the game close despite the Bulls’ advantage in the paint. Chicago scored 66 paint points against Atlanta’s fifty, a sixteen-point difference that helped counter the Hawks’ extra perimeter makes.

Nine Bulls in double figures meant Atlanta could not solve the afternoon merely by stopping Buzelis. The final defensive assignment still belonged to the whole team: finish one possession against Young after a rotation full of scorers had built the two-point lead.

The bench and distribution matter

Nine Bulls scoring in double figures is particularly significant because it indicates that Chicago did not need one player to dominate possession.

Buzelis led the production, but the broader rotation contributed.

That is the kind of offensive balance Billy Donovan has attempted to establish.

A team with several capable ballhandlers and scoring threats can make opponents defend multiple actions.

When a defense concentrates on one player, another can attack.

When opponents protect the paint, perimeter opportunities can emerge.

Chicago's scoring total illustrated what happens when those decisions repeatedly favor the offense.

But the same game also revealed a problem.

The Bulls cannot assume they will produce 150 points consistently enough to offset difficult defensive performances.

Atlanta's 150 points nearly defeated them.

Young nearly changes the ending

The final possession brought the game's offensive chaos into one moment.

Chicago led by two.

Atlanta needed a basket to force overtime or a three-pointer to win.

Young created an opportunity with a running shot.

The attempt nearly dropped.

Had it fallen, Chicago's extraordinary scoring performance would not have been sufficient to secure victory in regulation.

Instead, the basketball rolled away.

The Bulls escaped.

The difference between celebration and another possession of basketball was the final movement of the ball around the rim.

That is a striking ending for a game in which both clubs had produced so much offense.

Hundreds of points had been scored.

The result still depended on one shot.

What the victory means

Sunday’s victory left Chicago 13–15 and Atlanta 15–15. The Bulls had followed their two wins over Cleveland with another road victory.

The Bulls had won a contest against a team positioned ahead of them in the standings and demonstrated their ability to generate offense through multiple contributors.

Buzelis delivered an exceptional shooting performance.

The supporting rotation produced valuable scoring.

And Chicago survived the final challenge.

But the defensive questions remain.

Allowing 150 points is not an encouraging foundation for sustainable winning.

The Bulls will need to improve their ability to complete defensive possessions, prevent opponents from creating easy scoring opportunities and control stretches when the game begins moving too quickly.

Sunday was entertaining.

It was productive offensively.

And it ended with Chicago celebrating.

For the Bulls to turn such victories into sustained success, they must eventually find ways to win games without needing 152 points.