ATLANTA — Trae Young is quickly returning to his All-Star form after missing 21 games with a knee injury.
Now, the Atlanta Hawks can shift their focus to healing their ailing defense.
The Hawks ranked 22nd in scoring defense before Sunday’s 152-150 loss to the Chicago Bulls in the NBA’s highest-scoring game this season.
The Bulls had nine scorers in double figures, led by Matas Buzelis with 28 points. The Bulls’ 152 points set a season high. They also set season highs with 41 assists, 57.6% field goal percentage and 47.6% 3-point shooting (20 of 42).
Young scored a season-high 35 points with nine assists. Jalen Johnson had 36 points with 11 rebounds and nine assists.
The Hawks also had Onyeka Okongwu score 23 points and Vit Krejci add 20. Young’s encouraging showing and all the offense wasn’t enough to overcome the leaky defense. The Bulls set another season high by scoring 83 points in the first half.
“It’s kind of tough winning games when you give up 80 points in the first half,” Johnson said. “It’s kind of embarrassing in a sense. …. Hopefully we cut down on some of the things we’re doing.”
Atlanta Hawks guard Nickeil Alexander-Walker (7) looks to shoot over Chicago Bulls guard Kevin Huerter, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Atlanta. Credit: AP/Colin Hubbard
The Hawks (15-15) have lost three straight and seven of nine to fall back to .500.
Young started for the second time in three games after missing 21 games with a right MCL sprain.
“I think everybody is excited to have Trae back,” Johnson said. “He’s been out for a while. … The fact he’s found his rhythm already in his second game is a good sign.”
Coach Quin Snyder said Young may need more time before he’s ready to play back-to-back games.
Chicago Bulls forward Matas Buzelis shoots during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Atlanta Hawks, Sunday, Dec. 21, 2025, in Atlanta. Credit: AP/Colin Hubbard
Young logged 26 minutes against Chicago, which he said was his limit for his second game back.
“I feel amazing,” Young said. “They did their job, put me right at 26 minutes. They weren’t allowing me to do any more. … I feel great.”
Young led the NBA in assists last season and is a four-time All-Star. He scored only eight points in 20 minutes in his first game back, a 133-126 loss at Charlotte on Thursday night. He was back in his high-scoring form against Chicago but missed a last-second jumper that would have tied the game.
“Those are shots that he makes,” Snyder said. “You feel good about getting the ball in the right guy’s hands.”
Snyder said the Hawks “had a lot of breakdowns in execution” on defense in the first half. The Bulls scored 69 points in the second half and made 54.3% of their shots from the field, but Snyder said his defense “did a better job with that in the second half as far as making them work hard.”
Young said the high-scoring pace was no surprise.
“It’s how both teams play,” Young said. “Both teams play fast. Teams are coming in here and playing fast against us. We’ve got to figure out how to stop a team that can only play fast.’