Giannis Antetokoumnpo powers Bucks past Bulls |
CHICAGO - Since the all-star break, no team has been hotter than the Milwaukee Bucks (40-21), as they have yet to lose a game. That shouldn't come as a surprise when you look at the talent on this team, but when you look at how this team has been playing since Doc Rivers took over, it is a bit of a surprise. What matters for Milwaukee now is that they may be peaking at the right time, which is a bad sign for the rest of the Eastern Conference.
Looking to build off their massive Double-OT win from Wednesday, the Chicago Bulls (28-32) were back in front of the United Center crowd, hoping to keep their strong play alive. This was another one of those teams that the Bulls have a tough time matching up against, but with Patrick Williams and Torrey Craig both injured, it became more of a matchup problem for this team. Both men would've been tasked with guarding Giannis Antetokoumnpo, so with them out of the lineup, the Bucks star was expected to deliver. Giannis didn't deliver; he feasted on the Bulls with 46 points and nearly scored half of the Bull's total points by himself. Pair that with the hot shooting from the first half, and the Bucks took care of business 113-97. It was in the first quarter when it looked like things would be a blowout as the Bucks were on fire from distance. Sure, the Bulls were hitting their own shots, but if my math is correct, three points are better than two points, and the Bucks were connecting from distance. Credit the Bulls for doing what they needed to do to stay close as they battled to within two points before trailing by nine after the first quarter. The Bulls defense started to play much better the next two quarters as they found themselves being outscored by just one point the next two quarters, but they still trailed by 10 after three. Milwaukee would take care of things the rest of the way as they took the Bulls best shots and put them away down the stretch for the road win. If the Bulls want to get hot the final five weeks of the season, Coby White needs to get back on track, as he has struggled the past month. Friday saw White get back to form as he connected on 2-5 from distance and 7-14 overall to finish with a team-high 22 points. From a shooting side, this was one of White's better performances over the past month, and it could be a sign of what is to come. Outside of that game from White, the Bulls' offense had a tough time getting things going, even with several other players landing in double figures. Nikola Vucevic knew he would have a tough matchup in this one, and with 17 points and nine boards, he performed well enough to keep his strong run of play going. You also saw Ayo Dosunmu pick up 15 points and six assists as his trend of great play continued. Rounding out the top scorers for the Bulls was Demar DeRozan, who had one of his worst outings in a long time as he struggled to get going with 12 points and nine assists. You also had Alex Caruso come through with 11 points, with Andre Drummond adding nine points off the bench in what was an overall tough night offensively. As expected, the Bucks were led by the face of the franchise, as Giannis has owned the Bulls since coming into the league. Going back the past seven seasons, the Bucks have lost just twice to this Bulls team, and Giannis is a big reason why. With 46 points and 16 points, Giannis continued to do his thing against the Bulls as he missed just six shots and nearly scored half the total for the Bulls. Anytime that happens, things will be challenging, but the Bucks have more options than just him to lean on. Damian Lillard is one of those guys, and after a hot start in the first, where he took multiple triples, Lillard cooled off a bit. He still scored 16 points while adding seven assists as he continues to play more aggressively on offense. The same thing can be said about Brook Lopez, who, like Lillard, got off to a hot start in the first quarter as the Bucks were looking to blow things out. Then, Giannis took over as the rest of the Bucks' offense chipped in when needed, as Lopez finished with 12 points and added three rebounds. While those were the only players landing in double figures in the starting lineup, the Bucks did get some help off the bench, which is something the Bulls didn't get much from. Had it not been for the Bucks bench, the Bulls would have won this game, which would've given them two massive wins in two nights. Former Bull Patrick Beverley showed up in a big way against his former team as he led the Bucks bench with 14 points and added four boards. You also had the former Bull Bobby Portis add 11 points and nine rebounds as he continues to be the one who got away.
