Photo caption : Chicago Bulls logo (credit: NBA.com)
The Bulls are fighting to move up in seeding of the 2023 Eastern Conference Playoff picture, but with only two games left in the regular season, the team has lost two games in a row. On Tuesday, April 4, the Bulls lost to the Atlanta Hawks 123-105.
The Bulls are currently the 10th seed in the NBA Playin spot.
Bulls center Nikola Vucevic led the team in scoring with 21 points and 10 rebounds. He recorded his 50th double-double and became the 4th Bulls player with 50 plus double-doubles in a season (A. Gilmore-3x, P. Gasol, C. Oakley).
His total is the 2nd-highest of his career (60, 2018-19) and ranks 3rd in the NBA this year.
In addition to a big night by Vucevic, former Bull Bobby Portis led all scorers with a game-high 27 points for the Bucks. The Bucks won in spite of missing Giannis Antetokounmpo and Khris Middleton from their lineup. Middleton left the game early on Wednesday night after re-aggravating his knee.
“I mean, it’s nothing too crazy,” Middleton told The Athletic in January via CBS Sports. “It’s just kind of what I’ve dealt with every summer ramping back up for the season. Just getting my knee back accustomed to running, jumping, the force, and the contact after being off for a long period of time. I know it’s kind of vague, but the truth of it is that’s all it was. Just the swelling and all of that, we couldn’t get it to go away. My leg just wasn’t strong enough or conditioned enough to withstand it.”
Final Score: Bulls 92, Bucks 105
With the loss, the Bulls are now 38-42 on the season. Up next, the Bulls will play the Dallas Mavericks, on Friday, April 7, on the road. Game time 7:30 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.
