After a strong win in Game 3 on Friday, the Milwaukee Bucks looked to take a 3-1 lead over the Chicago Bulls in Sunday’s Game 4 clash.
Similar to how they did in Game 3, the Bucks came out and took the game by the horns right from the opening tip. After trailing briefly in the first quarter, the Bucks took the lead right before the mid-way point of the period and then never looked back, having built up a lead as big as 24 points. Despite several spirated runs by the Bulls, the Bucks managed to sustain the lead as they secured a big 119-95 victory in Game 4 to take a 3-1 series lead. Before the Bucks have a chance to finish the series in Milwaukee on Wednesday, here are three takeaways from yesterday’s contest.
The Milwaukee Bucks looked up to par on both sides of the basketball in Game 4 as they took down the Chicago Bulls
Whether it be offensively or defense, the Milwaukee Bucks have had their share of issues on both ends throughout this series. Thankfully, they were clicking on each side of the ball in Game 4 with the group entirely in sync from start to finish.
Offensively, everyone on Milwaukee’s side seemingly found their stroke as they finished shooting 45-of-86 (52.3 percent) from the field and an eye-catching 17-of-33 (51.5 percent) from 3-point range. Grayson Allen and Jrue Holiday played a massive part in that sharpshooting from deep, but their contributions from the perimeter will be highlighted more in-depth in just a minute. Whether it was from long distance, in the mid-range, or right at the hoop, the Bucks dominated the contest as they shot it beyond efficiently all afternoon, led by 32 points from Giannis Antetokounmpo.
While the Bucks were firing on all cylinders offensively, their defense may have been even better as they held the Bulls to 95 points on 35-of-90 shooting (38.9 percent) and 9-of-36 (25 percent) from 3-point land. The Bucks once again did everything possible to limit the contributions from the Bull’s leading trio, and it worked as DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic shot a combined 21-of-52 (40.4 percent) from the field in this one Jrue Holiday, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Brook Lopez, and Wesley Matthews, among others, all did their part to make life tough for that trio all game long, and it worked out in the end.
The Bucks looked like themselves on both sides of the basketball as they took down the Bulls on the road, which provides optimism moving forward.