By Joseph Phillips
Chicago Crusader Sports Editor
In Game 2 of the first round of the 2022 NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs, the Chicago Bulls defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 114-110 on Wednesday, April 20, on the road.
The Bulls bounced back from a loss to the Bucks on Sunday, April 17, at Fiserv Forum, where All-Star forward Giannis Antetokounmpo scored a game high 27 points and grabbed 16 rebounds in the win.
Tonight, the Bulls “Big 3” of DeMar DeRozan, Zach LaVine, and Nikola Vucevic wanted to deliver a different outcome from Sunday’s loss against the former NBA Champions, and tonight’s game resulted in a win.
DeRozan led the Bulls with a career playoff-high of 41 points on 16-of-31 shooting from the field, Vucevic posted his second double-double of the series with 24 points and 13 rebounds, and Zach LaVine added 20 points to help tie the series at 1-1 in the best of seven series.
In the first quarter the Bulls exchanged baskets with the Bucks and jumped out to an early 29-28 lead. In the second quarter, the Bulls outscored the Bucks 34-21, which led to a 53-49 halftime lead. In the third quarter, the Bucks stormed back and outscored the Bulls 31-24 but fell behind 87-80.
Although DeRozan made several huge shots down the stretch in the third quarter, he exploded for 8 points during the 13-0 run that began late in the quarter and gave the Bulls a 96-80 lead with 9:47 remaining.
The Bulls led by as many as 15 points before Milwaukee rallied in the final 7 ½ minutes of the game.
The Bucks continued to close the gap late in the fourth quarter, thanks to the play of center Brook Lopez, who converted a three-point play to cut Chicago’s lead to 112-109 with 56 seconds remaining. Both Alex Caruso and Vucevic got offensive rebounds on the Bulls’ ensuing possession, DeRozan’s driving layup iced the game at 114-109 with 18.2 seconds remaining.
Final Score: Bulls 114, Bucks 110.
BULLS NOTES:
The team’s victory on Wednesday night was their first playoff win in five seasons. Their last playoff win came on April 17, 2017 against the Boston Celtics. According to the AP, the Bulls beat the Bucks for just the second time in their last 19 meetings. The series now heads to Chicago for Game 3 on Friday.
Injury Report: Former Chicago Bulls forward Bobby Portis left Wednesday’s game with a right eye abrasion after the first quarter and Khris Middleton suffered a sprained MCL. Middleton exited Wednesday’s game with a sore left knee after slipping midway through the fourth quarter.
Bucks star Giannis Antetokounmpo led the Bucks with 33 points, 18 rebounds and nine assists, putting him one assist from his second career playoff triple-double. Antetokounmpo increased his career postseason point total to 1,715 to overtake Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (1,692) for the most in Bucks history.
Brook Lopez had 25 points for the Bucks. Middleton scored 18 and Jrue Holiday 15.
TIP-INS: Courtesy of AP
Bulls: After shooting a season-low 32.3% and going 7-of-37 from 3-point range in a 93-86 Game 1 loss, the Bulls shot 49.4% and went 12-of-25 from beyond the arc Wednesday. DeRozan, LaVine and Vucevic shot a combined 21 of 71 overall and 4-of-22 from 3-point range in Game 1. They were a combined 33-of-62 overall and 7-of-14 on 3-point attempts in Game 2. Caruso had 10 assists to go along with nine points. Patrick Williams had 10 points and nine rebounds.
Bucks: George Hill missed a third straight game with an abdominal strain. Bucks coach Mike Budenholzer said before Game 2 that Hill isn’t expected back I the short term and that the team will monitor how the 35-year-old Hill guard progresses over the next “handful of days or more,” The Bucks had 15 turnovers to increase their season total to 36.
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago. He can be reached at [email protected].
Joseph Phillips is the Sports Editor for the Chicago Crusader Newspaper. He is a Chicago native, who has been a sports writer for over 17 years. He also hosts the SC Media News and Sports Network Q&A radio show on WHPK 88.5 FM Chicago.
