CHICAGO — Al Horford was everywhere last night. Grabbing rebounds, running the floor, picking up loose balls and scoring from the inside. It was the best performance of his career, an effort that kept the Atlanta Hawks unbeaten through six games.

On a night when leading scorer Joe Johnson had trouble with his shot, Horford scored a career-high 27 points, grabbed 17 rebounds and blocked six shots to lead a 113-108 victory over the Chicago Bulls.

Atlanta's start is its best since the 1997-98 Hawks won their first 11 games.

"It shows how deep this team is and we're all unselfish," Horford said. "Not every night is going to be Joe this year like it was previously. Now he has a supporting cast."

And a good one.

Mike Bibby added 22 points, hitting three 3-pointers in the fourth quarter to fend off a Bulls rally. The Hawks had six players in double figures, including Johnson, who finished with 17 — eight below his average. He shot 4-for-16.

Atlanta got a lift off the bench from Maurice Evans, who scored 17 points, including two late 3-pointers in the final quarter.

The Hawks made the most of their transition game, beating the Bulls up the floor.

"We knew they were a running team, and coach just said to run right back at them and they weren't getting back, so we were getting easy points," Horford said.

"Our defense was terrible," Chicago's Luol Deng said. "We did a poor job picking up guys in transition. We didn't help each other."

Rookie Derrick Rose led the Bulls with 26 points to match his career high and had a career-best 10 rebounds and stayed in the game, despite pulling a muscle in his back in the first quarter. Andres Nocioni chipped in 20 points.

The Bulls played without Kirk Hinrich (thumb surgery), Larry Hughes (shoulder) and Drew Gooden (ankle). Atlanta was without Josh Smith (ankle).

Johnson, averaging 25.2 points, struggled with his shot, missing eight of his first 10 shots.

CAVALIERS 99, BUCKS 93: LeBron James matched a season high with 41 points, finally putting visiting Milwaukee away with a steal and dunk in the final minute, and Mo Williams scored 16 against his former team as Cleveland won its fifth straight.

Nuggets 88, Bobcats 80: Carmelo Anthony scored 18 of his 25 points in the second half, Chauncey Billups had a key three-point play late, and visiting Denver held off Charlotte to improve to 3-0 with Billups — acquired in a trade last week — in the lineup.

Jazz 93, 76ers 80:Carlos Boozer had 19 points and 16 rebounds, and Deron Williams, who missed the first six games because of a sprained left ankle, had seven points and nine assists as visiting Utah handed Philadelphia its third straight loss.

Spurs 92, Knicks 80: Tim Duncan had 23 points, nine rebounds and seven assists, and rookie George Hill, starting in place of injured Tony Parker (out for a month due to a moderate left ankle sprain) added 12 points to lead host San Antonio over New York.

Pistons 100, Kings 92: Allen Iverson had 30 points and nine assists to win for the first time with his new team since being traded from Denver last week, and Tayshaun Prince added 26 points and 11 rebounds, leading visiting Detroit over Sacramento.

Warriors 113, Timberwolves 110: Stephen Jackson scored on a transition layup with 22.2 seconds left in regulation to tie the score at 106, then scored six of his 30 points in overtime, including a 3-pointer with 2:16 left for a 112-107 lead as host Golden State beat Minnesota, which has lost six straight since opening the season with a win.