The Milwaukee Bucks kept up their string of good performances, as they avenged their early season loss to the Chicago Bulls with a 122-106 win. Giannis went berserk with 41 points, 25 of which he scored in the third quarter alone. Brook Lopez and Damian Lillard scored 21 and 20 respectively, while Zach LaVine led the Bulls with 27.
It was a rough offensive start for both sides to begin this one. The basket was sealed for the first two minutes as the Bucks and Bulls went a combined 0-for-6 for the first 2:12 of the game before Brook Lopez nailed a floater. After that, both offenses got in gear for a back-and-forth affair.
There were nine lead changes in the final 5:13, but it was the Bucks who held on to take the lead into the second quarter. AJ Green hit three threes and Damian Lillard set up Brook Lopez on an excellent pass to nearly beat the buzzer, with Milwaukee retaining a 36-30 lead.
The Bucks came out swinging in the second quarter hitting their first two shots of the frame, forcing Bulls head coach Billy Donovan to call a timeout with Chicago down by 11. They continued to build up that cushion after the timeout, pushing the lead to 16 points before the Bulls finally responded with a 7-0 run midway through the quarter.
Milwaukee would eventually go up 18, with Lopez scoring six points in the frame. The ball movement was astounding as eight of Milwaukee’s 12 made shots coming off assists. The Bucks coasted into the locker room with a 69-55 lead. Zach LaVine led all players with 20 points at the break, while it was Lopez with 15 to lead Milwaukee
Despite that positive first half from the Bucks, the third quarter continued to give them fits as a unit. After Giannis scored on a beautiful Lillard feed to open up the frame, the Bulls began chipping away at the deficit. Zach LaVine continued his strong game, hitting a couple of tough shots, but it was Torrey Craig of all people who brought Chicago within one, 81-80.
After that, Milwaukee finally responded, although I should say Giannis responded, scoring six of the next 10 points for the Bucks to give them a nine-point lead. It was part of the 25 points he scored in the frame (the Bucks as a team scored 29). Both sides traded buckets before Milwaukee took an eight-point lead into the fourth quarter, 98-90.
Chicago threw every punch they had in the fourth quarter the Bucks way. They started things off with a 12-6 run to get back within two thanks to another Julian Phillips three-ball (he hit two on the night), with 7:56 to go in the stanza.
With five minutes remaining, the Bucks answer with three consecutive three-pointers, one from each of Dame, Green, and Lopez, bringing their advantage back to 13 points. If it were NBA 2K, the Bucks would put their three-point sliders up to 100. The Bucks easily won 122-106, their fourth in the previous five games, when the Bulls eventually ran out of steam after losing 7-2 in the game’s closing 5:31.
In a blowout, I present to you one of the craziest halftime, halfcourt contest shots I’ve ever seen.
The Bucks picked apart the Bulls defense and it was all thanks to their assists, especially in half-court settings. Of the 44 made shots by Milwaukee, 30 were assisted on, with the second quarter being the high mark of eight assists on 12 made shots.
