LEAD: Hawks show surprising energy in easy win over Bulls

By Chris Bernucca Jan 8, 2012, 6:39 GMT

Los Angeles - The Atlanta Hawks are tired, but it's a good kind of tired.

Josh Smith scored 25 points in a terrific all-around game Saturday as the Hawks completed a challenging stretch of five games in six nights with a 109-94 home rout of the Chicago Bulls.

Joe Johnson and Serbia's Vladimir Radmanovic scored 17 points apiece for Atlanta, which ended Chicago's six-game winning streak. The Hawks avenged Tuesday's 76-74 road loss at Chicago, where they wasted a 19-point lead.

'We pretty much knew what was at stake coming into this game, and guys showed up,' Johnson said.

Atlanta began its difficult schedule Monday at Miami by handing the Heat their first loss of the season. After Tuesday's loss, the Hawks were off Wednesday.

Atlanta started a stretch of three games in three nights with Thursday's exhausting home triple-overtime loss to Miami. On Friday, the Hawks again needed overtime to get past host Charlotte.

'We played in four overtimes, so three games felt like four or five games in a row,' Johnson said.

The Hawks never trailed, opening leads of 33-18 after one quarter and 63-45 at halftime. Unlike Tuesday, they were able to maintain their advantage.

'We played like a team that might have been playing on their first night (of three in a row),' Hawks coach Larry Drew said. 'I thought we just took it to them.'

'I didn't like the way we started the game, the same way we did in Chicago,' Bulls coach Tom Thibodeau said. 'We got in a big hole.'

Smith made 11-of-17 shots and added five rebounds, five assists, six blocks and four steals as he just missed a rare 'five-by-five' game - at least five of all of the positive individual stats. Utah's Andrei Kirilenko last accomplished the feat on January 3, 2006.

The Bulls got within 45-43 before the Hawks closed the second quarter with an 18-2 burst that included four three-pointers - one by Smith, one by Johnson and two by Radmanovic, who was 5-of-5 from the arc.

'I thought our bench really got us over the hump, guys like Vlad coming in and making a lot of shots,' Johnson said.

Chicago trailed by 29 points in the third quarter and got no closer than the final margin. Reigning MVP Derrick Rose sat with 2:29 left in the third period and did not return, finishing with eight points and six assists.

'They came out aggressive and played hard,' Rose said. 'They got us out of our game.'

Al Horford scored 14 points and Jeff Teague added 12 and eight assists for the Hawks, who made 9-of-12 three-pointers. Reserve John Lucas III scored 14 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter for the Bulls.

Miami 101, New Jersey 90 =

LeBron James returned from a one-game absence with a sprained ankle and scored 24 of his 32 points in the first half as the visiting Heat improved to an NBA-best 8-1.

Oklahoma City 98, Houston 95 =

Kevin Durant scored 11 of his 27 points in the fourth quarter, including the go-ahead jumper with 22 seconds left, to complete a sweep of the home-and-home series for the visiting Thunder.

Dallas 96, New Orleans 81 =

On a night where German juggernaut Dirk Nowitzki managed just 10 points on 2-of-11 shooting, France's Ian Mahinmi scored a career-high 13 points as the host Mavericks handed the Hornets their sixth straight setback.

Philadelphia 97, Toronto 62 =

Andre Iguodala had 14 points and 10 rebounds for the host 76ers, who have won four in a row by an average of 23.5 points.

New York 103, Detroit 80 =

Amar'e Stoudemire scored 22 points for the visiting Knicks, who dealt the Pistons their third straight loss.

Indiana 99, Charlotte 77 =

Roy Hibbert scored 20 points to lead six players in double figures as the host Pacers handed the Bobcats their sixth loss in seven games.

San Antonio 121, Denver 117 =

The Spurs improved to 6-0 at home as Danny Green scored a career-high 24 points to overcome 31 points by Italy's Danilo Gallinari.

LA Clippers 92, Milwaukee 86 =

Blake Griffin had 22 points and 14 boards as the host Clippers won their third straight game and dealt the Bucks their fourth consecutive loss.

Utah 88, Golden State 87 =

Gordon Hayward scored 18 points, including the go-ahead free throw with 11 seconds remaining, to give the visiting Jazz their fourth straight win.