CHICAGO -- Does anybody really still doubt whether the Atlanta Hawks are bona fide contenders in the Eastern Conference? If you do, you haven't been paying attention to the NBA over the last week. A more pertinent question may be whether Atlanta is a serious threat to win it all.

Atlanta's 107-99 win over the Chicago Bulls was remarkable for its banality. The Hawks raced out to an early lead, kept the Bulls down by double digits for most of the game, then coolly held on down the stretch even after Derrick Rose ignited the United Center in the final quarter with some vintage whirling dervish moves. It was the type of situation that should have put the upstart Hawks to the test. But they answered with yet another display of execution and togetherness.

The win capped a week in which the Hawks stomped all three of the teams lurking behind them in the standings. They beat the Wizards by 31 on Sunday, the Raptors by 21 on Friday and now the Bulls.

"They're a great team with the way they move the ball and the way they play defense," Bulls star Derrick Rose said. "They don't have any super, superstars, but they have very good players and they love playing with each other. It shows."

Atlanta has now won 12 straight games for the first time since LBJ was in the White House. The Hawks have won a surreal 26 of 28 since Thanksgiving. Saturday's game marked the halfway point of Atlanta's schedule with a 33rd win. Last year's playoff team won 38 all season. You could go on all night trying to put all this into perspective.

When former Bull Kyle Korver wasn't guarding former Hawk Kirk Hinrich, he was sinking 7 treys. Armando L. Sanchez/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty

Now, and here's the really scary thing, the Hawks head back to Atlanta to finish the month with seven-game homestand.

Only Golden State can rival the collective shooting ability of these Hawks. Kyle Korver is the poster child for that, and he lit up the Bulls for 24 points on just 10 shots. Chicago could not keep track of Korver in transition, and when he's stepping into an unguarded shot, it's a 3-point layup. All seven of Korver's field goals on Saturday came from behind the arc.

Yet, the things that really elevate the Hawks are beyond their bevy of long-range gunners: Unselfishness, and team defense.

The Hawks had 31 assists on 40 field goals on Saturday in what has become almost a matter of course. During the Hawks' just-completed 5-0 week, they topped 30 assists four times. The assists come from all over. Jeff Teague paced the club with 11 in Chicago, but big men Paul Millsap and Al Horford combined for 10, and seven Hawks had at least two.

"It's the unselfishness of these players," Hawks coach Mike Budenholzer said. "They have a high basketball IQ and high character."

Korver, who said this Atlanta team reminds him of the "hungry" bunch from his first year in Chicago, appears to be enjoying himself immensely.

"It's just fun basketball," Korver said. "To me, it's the best kind of basketball. I think a lot of the guys feel that way too."

As for the defense, Atlanta leads the league in defensive efficiency during its 28-game surge despite the lack of the classic, shot-blocking rim defender everyone seems to think they need.

"It's team defense," Korver said. "We have really mobile bigs. They can really move and are intelligent. We can switch up coverages because we have guys who can do that."

The Hawks join Golden State as the only teams to rank in the top five in efficiency on both ends of the court and yet continue to fly under the radar. The most recent Hollinger Playoff Odds give Atlanta an NBA-high 38 percent chance of winning it all, something the Hawks franchise hasn't done since Bob Pettit was their star, and the team played in St. Louis. Heady times indeed.

With the team headed home for the next two weeks, who knows how long this streak will go? Could the starless Hawks really stretch the run to 19? Could the post-Thanksgiving spree run to 33-2? According to Korver, the juggernaut no one is following is only getting started.

"We all truly know we haven't accomplished anything yet," Korver said. "But we feel like we have really good pieces that fit together, and we understand that we have to play together to have success."