Tom Thibodeau finally relented and started Derrick Rose over Elfrid Payton in Game 3 against the Hawks in Atlanta, but it turns out wins are still difficult to come by when your top two scorers combine for just 21 points on less than 17% shooting.
Atlanta sizzled from beyond the arc on Friday in front of their home crowd at State Farm Arena, nailing 16 of 27 threes (59.3%) en route to an 104-94 victory that was worse than the final score might have you believe. Julius Randle and RJ Barrett failed to show up again — 14 and 7 points, respectively — which rendered a remarkable 30-point effort from Rose inconsequential.