CHICAGO - Zach LaVine believes he needs to be a dependable scorer in the fourth quarter of games for the Chicago Bulls to consistently succeed.
Wednesday night against the Atlanta Hawks, he was happy being a spectator during the final 14 minutes.
LaVine scored 35 points in three quarters, Lauri Markkanen added 22 points and Chicago snapped a three-game losing streak with a 136-102 victory over the road-weary Hawks.
LaVine finished 12-for-15 from the field, including 7-for-7 from 3-point range.
"It feels good. You want to have wins like that," said LaVine, a 24-year-old guard who spent his first three NBA seasons with the Minnesota Timberwolves before being traded to Chicago two years ago. "It does good for the team and the body. I was just more excited about us just keeping the gas on and not having to come back in.
"We played a full game."
Wendell Carter Jr. added 11 points and 10 rebounds, and rookie Coby White scored 19 points for Chicago.
Atlanta's Trae Young had 15 points and 13 assists, while Alex Len led with 17 points and rookie Cam Reddish scored 16 for the Hawks, who have dropped two straight games and 13 of their past 15.
The Hawks were coming off a 135-121 overtime loss Tuesday night at Miami, where they led the Heat by six points with less than a minute remaining. Atlanta players and coaches didn't arrive at their hotel until about 3 a.m.
"We've had our struggles on second nights of back-to-backs," Hawks coach Lloyd Pierce said. "I thought our guys were competing. It was a great start to the game. I thought it was one of our better starts to the game then it's a tough stretch at the end of the first quarter, tough stretch at the end of the second quarter."
Young's reaction with 59 seconds to go in Miami - he swung his arms apart and yelled, "It's over!" - received plenty of attention because the Heat scored the next 22 points. Young offered a mea culpa with mostly emojis on Twitter after the game, but Pierce said he had no problem with the second-year point guard's behavior.
"You've got to love his confidence," Pierce said. "Celebrate. There's nothing wrong with that. It wasn't in anyone's face. He's celebrating his team's success in a position to win on the road."
The Hawks weren't able to put themselves in that spot Wednesday.
Chicago scored the final 10 points of the first half for a 66-52 lead, and LaVine led the way with 18 points on 7-for-9 shooting before the break. The Bulls continued the surge and took their largest lead to that point, 93-69, on a layup by Carter with 4 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter.
LaVine had 17 points in the third on 5-for-6 shooting, including 4-for-4 from long range, as Chicago took a 106-87 lead into the final period.
"Zach's efficiency was unbelievable," Bulls coach Jim Boylen said. "He's wants to be great and he's working."
The Bulls, who have blown big leads multiple times this season, put the game away with a 19-3 run early in the final quarter for a 125-93 lead. It was Chicago's biggest margin of victory since a 39-point win over the Brooklyn Nets in April 2017.
"We usually mess up with that," LaVine said. "We finally figured it out today. I think we should have had a couple more wins where we did that.
"Finally we were able to take a little bit of a break. We have to do more of that."
Chicago native Jabari Parker, a former Bull, had 11 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes for the Hawks.
Bulls forward Otto Porter will be sidelined an additional four-plus weeks after an MRI revealed a small fracture in his left foot. Porter, who hasn't played since Nov. 6, originally was diagnosed with a sprain before a follow-up MRI two weeks later showed a bone bruise. He'll be reassessed in four weeks.
It's heartbreaking for him and, obviously, difficult for us," Boylen said. "He's a big wing and a 40% 3-point shooter. His experience, talent, versatility is something we need."
The announced crowd at the United Center was 15,084 two days after a crowd of 14,775 against the Toronto Raptors.
Before Wednesday, the Bulls were averaging 18,747 per game, but the crowds have been shrinking of late.
The Hawks return home to face the Indiana Pacers on Friday.