The Milwaukee Bucks hosted the Chicago Bulls on Monday night at Fiserv Forum, with the Bucks winning their first preseason game 111-107 to improve to 1-2. Chicago fell to 1-2.

Giannis Antetokounmpo led all scorers with 24 points and had a team-high 10 rebounds. Adama Sanogo led the Bulls with 16 points and 15 rebounds.

It was a sluggish start for both teams early on. Damian Lillard got off to 4/4 start and Giannis Antetokounmpo also got involved early. Then a minor altercation followed between Antetokounmpo and Josh Giddey, with Giddey wrapping Giannis with a hard foul and Giannis pushing him off.

The Bulls then caught momentum, with Adama Sanogo converting on some good looks and rookie Matas Buzelis elevating for the and-one jam. Chicago led 34-24 after one.

The second began with a Giannis transition dunk, followed by a Connaughton three. AJ Johnson, coming off his thirteen-point performance against the LA Lakers, got involved with an and-one attack.

For Chicago, Buzelis stayed involved with a floater and a three to fend off the surging Bucks. Giannis was living at the rim, shooting 10/12 from the charity stripe. But the Bucks’s struggles to contain the Bulls’ dribble-penetration and rebounding issues caused their deficit to only shrink by one point, trailing 59-68 at the half.

Milwaukee came out of the locker room much more focused in the third, opening on a 15-0 run behind contributions from Antetokounmpo, Lillard, Prince, and Lopez. The defence was much improved, with the Bucks being able to contain the Bulls’ guards much better.

Gary Trent Jr. was a benefactor of this, getting in on the act with consecutive steals. At about the five-minute mark, the Bucks starters started to file out, and the notable portion of the game was basically over. Milwaukee led 91-83 going into the fourth.

Notably in the fourth quarter, it was fan-favourite Liam Robbins checking in as the fourth big instead of two-way Anžejs Pasečņiks—maybe a sign of things to come? The Bulls battled back as Adama Sanogo continued to pile up rebounds.

MarJon Beauchamp responded with a post-birthday dunk in transition, which was followed by a Pasečņiks poster as the Bucks bench went wild. The Bulls battled back, but ultimately the Bucks pulled out their first win of the preseason.

By inducing live-ball turnovers, the Bucks took the lead and doubled the Bulls’ score total from turnovers (14–7). However, Milwaukee has to improve its defensive rebounding after Adama Sanogo scored an absurd seven points off of offensive rebounds in this game.