Zach LaVine described himself as "so damn tired" after the Chicago Bulls prevailed in an epic 329-point NBA battle that went to a fourth overtime period and saw Trae Young match an incredible Michael Jordan feat.

The Bulls won 168-161 on the road against the Atlanta Hawks in the third-highest scoring game in NBA history - the record stands at 370 following the Detroit Pistons' 186-184 victory against the Denver Nuggets in December 1983.

"I've never been a part of a game that long," LaVine said to ESPN after finishing with a career-high total of 47 points, to which he added nine rebounds and nine assists.

"I air-balled one because I was so damn tired."

Players on both sides were racking up the stats, with Lauri Markkanen – who made three free throws with two minutes left to give the Bulls a lead they did not relinquish – adding 31 points and 17 rebounds, while Otto Porter Jr had 31 points and 10 rebounds.

The highest-scoring player ended up on the losing side, though, with rookie Young's inspirational display of 49 points, 16 assists and eight rebounds not enough for the Hawks.

He was the first rookie since LeBron James in 2004 to score at least 40 points with 10 assists, the first since Jordan in 1985 to have a 45-point, 10-assist game, and the first since 1968 to get 49 or more points with double-figure assists.

Young said: "Being in conversation with a guy like LeBron is humbling and an honour first of all, but at the same time I'm trying to make my own mark, continue to make plays, and continue to do things for my team.

"That was a fun game to play in, probably one of the most fun games I've played in my career as a basketball player. 

"It's been fun - a crazy, up-and-down game. We had a lot of guys fouled out, we were going through things.

"I'm proud of the way we fought even though we came up short. I loved the way we fought because they had their whole team out the whole time, so it was great."

The memorable match also saw Vince Carter play 45 minutes at the age of 42, with only the 20-year-old Young featuring longer for the Hawks.

"You know, I don't know if Vince is getting younger or what, but he's had just unbelievable games this year," said coach Lloyd Pierce.

"He's just a remarkable example of what our young guys should be and see."