3 takeaways from Milwaukee Bucks’ commanding win over Chicago Bulls

Brook Lopez looked outstanding as he played his best game of the season for the Milwaukee Bucks

In addition to Middleton, another reason Antetokounmpo got to somewhat sit back was the stellar play from Brook Lopez, who had his best game of the year with the Milwaukee Bucks.

The big man was attacking the basket from start to finish in this one, having shot an impressively efficient 8-of-10 on his 2-point field goals. Lopez did bury one 3-pointer in four attempts, but the majority of his work was done right at the rim, where he is unquestionably at his best offensively. This aggressive play from Lopez helped him notch nine free throw tries for the game, all of which he connected on. Lopez had been having a tough time finding his footing offensively since he was reintegrated into the starting five, but last night’s performance should help him change that.

While he excelled on the offensive end, Lopez was certainly no slouch defensively either, as the big man tallied three blocks and two steals, having made his presence felt. Fascinatingly enough, Bulls center Nikola Vucevic shot an abysmal 3-of-19 for the game, with a larger portion of his struggles coming while being defended by Lopez. Milwaukee’s man in the middle completely took Chicago’s All-Star center out of this contest, having kept the pressure on him from start to finish. If the two teams do meet in the postseason, this will be among the most notable matchups.

Given everything Lopez has been through this season with the back surgery and the lengthy rehab process, it was great to see him play at such a high-level last night. As previously alluded to, Lopez had been having his share of struggles recently, so hopefully his performance can help him create some stability across the Bucks’ final three regular season games before the playoffs kick-off.

The Milwaukee Bucks will be back in action this Thursday in another important matchup with an East contender in the Boston Celtics. Be sure to catch the action at 6:30 p.m. CST on TNT.