Milwaukee Bucks: Takeaways from 111-98 win over Chicago Bulls
1-2 punch
Once again, the Bucks’ dynamic duo of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton showed out in their win over the Bulls Monday evening.
Starting with Antetokounmpo, the 25-year-old shrugged off a slow start, just as the Bucks did overall, and fought through plenty of miscues. That was whether it was accruing multiple offensive fouls as Bulls defenders regularly positioned themselves in the paint or dishing out errant passes to his teammates.
But even with all of the mistakes he committed, Antetokounmpo fought through all of the downs and still relished in wrecking the Bulls’ defense from the inside with his 22 paint points. And Antetokounmpo keeps on brandishing his Dirk Nowitzki-like fadeaway jumper in the paint to great effect as he did during the fourth frame.
It all ended up with the reigning MVP compiling his fourth triple-double performance of the season with 28 points on 20 shots (1-for-5 from three, 3-for-9 from the foul line), 14 rebounds, 10 assists, eight turnovers, one steal, one block, and a team-high +23 over his 31 minutes on the court.
Middleton didn’t need to fight through many issues, if at all, as he was dialed in from all three levels of the floor in the win. The 28-year-old regularly punished smaller defenders by backing them down in the post and getting off clean looks routinely while knocking down the majority of his 3-point looks. Along with that, Middleton did plenty to keep the ball moving around to set up scores for his teammates on the offensive end.
Playing 30 and a half minutes of action, Middleton finished with 24 points on 13 shots (3-for-4 from deep, 1-for-1 from the foul line), six rebounds as well as six assists, two turnovers and was a +17 on the night.
It only continues what’s been a remarkable and extensive run for the All-Star swingman as he continues to vie for a second straight All-Star selection.