It’s never a great night when the Milwaukee Bucks shoot less than 20% from deep, but thankfully it was their might inside that overpowered the Chicago Bulls and led to a 124-115 victory. It was a tight affair between both squads to start the first period, with Chicago narrowly edging out Milwaukee 32-30. The second period was similarly close, as Chicago’s hot shooting first half (47.8% from deep) gave them a 66-65 lead heading into halftime. In the third, the Bucks finally got some separation from their cross-state rivals by outscoring them by 12 and having a 97-86 lead to start the fourth. The final stanza got tight near the end, but a couple of clutch Eric Bledsoe baskets sealed the deal.
Giannis Antetokounmpo continued his streak of 30+ point games in this one, starring on the break to end at 38 points, 15 rebounds, four assists and three steals. Bledsoe stepped up in Khris Middleton’s absence too, going for 31 points and eight assists. Wes Matthews had a season-high 15.
Coby White led the Bulls with 26 points thanks to a 6-13 performance from deep, but he finished 9-23 overall from the field. Zach LaVine was his best scoring teammate with 25, but he also was 8-20 shooting. Wendell Carter Jr. added 14.
Stat that Stood Out
The Bulls were entirely on fire from beyond the arc the whole evening hitting 18-43 (41.9%), in stark contrast to the frigid field goal percentage for the Bucks from three at only 18.2% on 33 attempts. However, the Bucks offset that through their pummeling of the paint, outscoring Chicago 70-32 near the basket.