It certainly hasn't been the prettiest exhibition of basketball but the Atlanta Hawks have come up with another solid defensive effort and take a 38-26 lead over the Chicago Bulls into halftime.
Atlanta has played some stingy defense particularly at the rim and it has seemed to throw the Bulls out of rhythm as they have missed some good looks also in the first half. Offensively the Hawks haven't been great but they have been good enough.
Marvin Williams leads a balanced scoring attack with nine points on 4-5 shooting. Joe Johnson and Josh Smith each scored seven points in the first half. Smith was a warrior on the glass grabbing 11 rebounds in the first half. Atlanta shot just 36 percent in the first half but out muscled the Bulls on the boards 26-22 in the first half.
Derrick Rose leads the Bulls with 10 points but it has been a struggle offensively. The Bulls shot just over 24 percent in the first half and at one point missed 18 consecutive shots.
For more on this game, Hawks fans should visit Peachtree Hoops and Bulls fans should stop by Blog A Bull. For more news and analysis be sure to check out SB Nation's NBA Hub.