The Milwaukee Bucks fell to a determined Chicago Bulls team on Friday night as they picked up their second consecutive loss.
Death, taxes and the Milwaukee Bucks blowing games they should win. Entering the game with the fourth best record in the East, the Bucks were heavy favourites to take the win from their Friday night contest against the 14th placed Chicago Bulls.
Admittedly it did feel odd seeing the away Bulls playing in white, but all the same, the Bucks were in front of their home crowd and should have driven home that advantage.
Milwaukee shot out of the gate like a rocket, taking a 10-point lead in the first quarter, leading 16-6. All things were pointing upward for Milwaukee as the Big Three were combining well and Giannis Antetokounmpo was looking his usual superstar self.
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From then onwards, the Bulls dominated the Bucks, helped along by the one-two punch (I know, I know) of Nikola Mirotic and Bobby Portis. The two added 49 points and 20 rebounds as they combined with the rest of the Bulls bench to stifle Milwaukee’s advances.
For Milwaukee, Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton were excellent, combining for 58 points, but found little help from the rest of the team. With the continued absence of Tony Snell, Matthew Dellavedova and Jason Terry, along with the recent announcement of Mirza Teletovic’s medical condition, the Bucks’ depth is being severely tested.
As a result, Jason Kidd has been forced to find aid elsewhere and on Friday night, this came in the form of Rashad Vaughn, D.J. Wilson and Sterling Brown, all of whom struggled to make an impact. All of this culminated in a 115-109 loss for the Bucks, who now have dropped to 15-12 with several difficult games around the corner.
So without further ado, let’s dive a little deeper into the game and take a look at some of the key takeaways.