Wed, 12/09 Bulls @ Hawks

The Bulls finally got a bit of good news on the injury front Tuesday.

Before the game with the New Jersey Nets at the United Center, Kirk Hinrich said his sprained left thumb has improved, and there's a chance he could play tonight when the Bulls face the Atlanta Hawks on the road.

ATLANTA -- Jamal Crawford and Atlanta's other backups gave the Hawks the lift the Chicago Bulls were missing.

Crawford scored a season-high 29 points and the Hawks opened the second half with a 20-4 run and beat the Bulls 118-83 on Wednesday night.

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The Bulls, who have lost four straight and nine of 10, remained close only in the first period. Atlanta pushed its lead to double digits for good on a jam by Smith with 5:17 remaining in the first half.

Joakim Noah said he has "no idea" why the Bulls are struggling after winning four of their first six games.

"The way we started the season I thought there was definitely some optimism," said Noah, who had only two points but led the Bulls with 11 rebounds. "But I think we're definitely going through it right now as a team. We've just got to find a way to snap out of it."

Derrick Rose, who led Chicago with 19 points, said the loss "really hurts."

"Either you want it or you don't," Rose said. "Hustle, if you want it. Rebound. The score tonight speaks for itself. We're just not playing hard."

Taj Gibson, who had 11 points, was Chicago's only reserve to score in the first three periods. Each team played backups through most of the fourth period.

Backup forward James Johnson had 17 -- all in the final period -- and John Salmons added 16 for Chicago.

"They jumped on us early in the third quarter, and then we ended up playing catch-up," said Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro. "We didn't score well enough to play catch-up like that."

The Bulls shot a season-low 36.4 percent (28 for 77) from the field.

"It's not good. It's not good," Del Negro said. "But you know, the guys are working. ... It's frustrating but you've got to battle through it."

Noah said the Bulls "are not competing together at all."

"We really need to stick together," Noah said. "I think there's enough character on this team for us to turn this around. We've got to turn this around. We will."