Can the Atlanta Hawks seal the deal against the Bulls this time?

They say “third time’s the charm” but the Atlanta Hawks (29-32) lost their third matchup against the Chicago Bulls 112-108. That is a marked improvement after final deficits of 12-plus points in each of the first two tilts. But, with 21 games to go and the Washington Wizards still breathing down the Hawks neck for the final play-in spot, the stakes are higher than ever.

As they try to avoid being swept in the regular-season series, the Hawks could focus on the fact that they lost on a late shot by DeMar DeRozan.

Or they could look at the fact that they shot just 28.6 percent from deep and 66.7 percent at the free-throw line. On the season, the Hawks are tied for second in three-point efficiency with none other than the Bulls at 37.4 percent.

Hopefully, the fourth time will be the charm as the Hawks wrap the season series vs CHI

Chicago shot 29.6 percent in that last outing so both teams were off from beyond the arc. But the Hawks still struggled uncharacteristically at the charity stripe. They are fifth in the NBA shooting 80.4 percent from the line this year. But they could hit just five of a whopping 12 attempts in the third.

They were 13-of-15 at the free-throw line otherwise.

The “big quarter” has taken on many forms. In the last meeting between these two teams, it was the Hawks free throw shooting that did them in. Their most recent game, a 107-98 loss to the Boston Celtics, saw them score 13 points in the third quarter.

Trae Young has struggled when the Bulls put Ayo Dosunmu on him. So it is up to him to keep the ball moving and for the others to step up when called upon.

They did that with a 26-14 run when he went out with an ankle injury late in the first until mid-way through the second quarter. But they need to find that sweet spot. This Bulls team isn’t nearly as stout defensively without Lonzo Ball or Alex Caruso in the lineup. Dosunmu and Javonte Green, who also gives Young a tough time, get by more on their effort.

It’s up to Young not to play into their hands.

Atlanta’s pick-and-roll prowess hasn’t been enough to overcome their poor shooting in the last meeting or a COVID-riddled roster in the first two bouts which came in a back-to-back in December.

This is despite the Bulls deploying one of the worst pick-and-roll defenders in Nikola Vucevic who routinely gets too deep into his drop and lacks the foot speed to recover.

Neither DeRozan nor Zach LaVine are great defenders either. Bogdan Bogdanovic and Kevin Huerter have enough ball-handling and playmaking ability to exploit that. But only one of them did the last time they saw Chicago.

Bogdanovic dropped 27 points off of the bench, going 5-of-12 from deep, and one-upping Danilo Gallinari’s 26 points. Huerter, however, had just nine points while shooting 36.4 percent and hitting 1-of-5 triples. It’s a similar line to the one he put up against Boston of nine points on 30.8 percent shooting and 1-of-5 threes.

This is another ‘all hands on deck’ situation.

Unless John Collins gets cleared after missing the last six games with a strained foot, they are going to be short-handed in the frontcourt with Onyeka Okongwu also entering concussion protocol on top of Young dealing with that balky ankle.

The trio of Huerter, Clint Capela, and De’Andre Hunter will have to be the deciding factor in this one if Young does struggle to get loose.