Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways From Loss To Chicago Bulls
By Reid Mueller
With an Atlanta loss, the Milwaukee Bucks headed into this game against Chicago with an opportunity to take over as the fifth seed with a win. They couldn’t deliver.
As this game with significant playoff implications got underway, both the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls traded buckets for the first four minutes. Behind a very controlled offensive attack, the Bucks found open looks, and executed them to take a 20-16 lead half way into the quarter.
Chicago played aggressively, keeping the game close despite a well played first quarter by Milwaukee. Both teams shot a slick 60 percent from the field, with Milwaukee only committing one turnover and a single foul.
Milwaukee opened up the second quarter hot, going on a 12-2 run to start the period behind solid bench play. Both teams went dry after the hot start, struggling to get shots to fall. Chicago then caught fire going on a 23-10 run over the last eight minutes of the half meaning that Milwaukee headed to the locker room down 55-56 in spite of leading comfortably only a few minutes earlier.
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After an impressive first quarter from Giannis Antetokounmpo, who had 10 points, four rebounds, and two assists, the Greek Freak went quiet. He would only add one point and one turnover to his stat line, as the Bucks struggled in the second quarter.
Khris Middleton came out of the halftime break ready to play. The Bucks’ star opened with two isolation scores, before dropping off to Tony Snell for the easy lay in on the fast break.
The Bucks’ quick start didn’t last, though, as their defense began to lose it’s energy. Nikola Mirotic got red hot, hitting multiple threes to get his totals up to 22 points on 9-11 shooting midway through the third quarter.
Chicago let the embers feed the fire, staying hot en route to a 35-24 advantage in the third quarter. Milwaukee headed into the fourth quarter down 91-79, and desperately looking for answers.
The fourth quarter would bring nothing but more questions, as the Bucks never got things rolling. The offense was desperate to get back into the game, taking some chances that didn’t pay off. Milwaukee plays their best basketball when every possession is played with a level head. Some teams get away with deviating from the game plan, but not the Bucks.
Chicago would outscore the Bucks 18-15 in the fourth, taking the game 109-94. The loss leaves Milwaukee tied for the fifth seed in terms of record with both the Atlanta Hawks and Indiana Pacers, with tiebreakers leaving them in sixth.