Chicago evens things up at 1-1
We officially have a series, as the Chicago Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 114-110. The series is now tied one game apiece.
Right out of the gates, the Bulls were taking advantage of the Bucks’ blunders. Milwaukee coughed up the basketball several times in less than two minutes, which granted Chicago a 9-0 early lead. However, the Bucks would race back and even snatched a lead of their own at one point. Going into the second, the Bulls clung to a small 29-28 advantage.
Things really began to get out of hand for the Bucks in the second quarter. They’d continue to commit blunders on the offensive end, which Chicago took advantage of. Headed into the locker rooms at half, the Bulls owned a 63-49 lead.
Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton would start to show up in the third quarter, which, in turn, made the Bucks show up. Milwaukee was able to slice the Chicago advantage to just three points at one point. However, Chicago closed the period out on a slight run, which gave them an 87-80 lead headed into the final quarter of regulation.
It was a valiant comeback effort by Milwaukee, but ultimately, they were unable to get over the hump. Up by three, the Bulls hauled in two offensive rebounds that led to a DeMar DeRozan layup, which put them up by five. That essentially proved to be the dagger, as Chicago earned a 114-110 victory and evened up the series at one game apiece.
Stat That Stood Out
I have to go with turnovers. Once again, this was a major issue for Milwaukee. They would give the ball up 14 times in the game. It produced the hole early on, and it proved to be a hole that would be too deep for them to dig out of. If the Bucks want to move on to the second round, they’ll need to shore things up in that department.