The Chicago Bulls lost their first game of the NBA preseason 105-102 to the Milwaukee Bucks, on Sunday, October 8, at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Bulls fell to the Bucks, in spite of Milwaukee sitting their three starters; Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Khris Middleton.
Coach Billy Donovan took a different approach to his lineup and started guard Coby White, Zach LaVine, DeMar DeRozan, Patrick Williams and Nikola Vucevic.
White led the team in scoring with 14 points and six assist. The point guard out of the University of North Carolina helped the Bulls build a 30-21 lead in the first quarter.
After building a nine point lead, the Bulls were outscored by the Bucks 29-21 in the second quarter but managed to hold on to a 51-50 lead at half time.
To close out the last two quarters of the game, guard/forward Marjon Beauchamp finished with a game-high 18 points and added eight rebounds in the victory for the Bucks.
“It was a physical game,” said new Bucks head coach Adrian Griffin via the Milwaukee Sentinel. “Chicago has always been a team that plays extremely hard and extremely physical. I think we had 19 turnovers. But I think MarJon – we talk about in timeouts playing through contact – and I thought he was great at the end of game. He stepped up and made his free throws.”
With the loss, the Bulls are now 0-1 in the preseason. They will play their next game against last years NBA champion’s Denver Nuggets on Thursday, October 12, at the United Center. Game time 7 p.m.
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.
