NEWSLETTER
That one felt like The Monstars vs. The Toon Squad … before they got Michael Jordan.
After an energetic first 8 minute of action, the Chicago Bulls started to play like a team on the back-end of a back-to-back after an emotional win. Almost every shot rattled off the rim in the first half, leading to a 37.8 percent shooting affair and a 23-4 run by the Bucks.
DeMar DeRozan followed up his wildly efficient 11-14 night with a 2-11 showing to start, and the aggressive defense we saw against the Raptors wasn’t enough to stand in the way of Giannis and a motivated Bucks crew. The Greek Freak earned himself any easy double-double with 14pts and 11rebs over the first two quarters. We also said the Bulls supporting cast would have to step up to give them a chance, but they walked into the locker room losing the bench points battle 18-4.
The second half was nothing but the same. Chicago put together a short comeback effort, but the Bucks stepped back on the gas to give them the cushion they needed.
Look, is this loss reason enough to throw out all the good fortune of last night’s W? Of course not. If anything, that was the win that really mattered, and this can almost be chalked up to a scheduled loss. Still, considering the dismal record against the top-3 teams in each conference, it’s hard not to have this loss sting. I mean, when will we see the Bulls finally pull one of these off? If … ever?
