Giannis Antetokounmpo, Khris Middleton and Bobby Portis all notched double-doubles as the host Milwaukee Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 94-90 on Friday night to win their second straight game.
Antetokounmpo paced the Bucks with 30 points on 11-of-23 shooting and added 12 rebounds against the Bulls, who entered the night as the top-seeded team in the Eastern Conference. Middleton finished with 16 points, 10 rebounds and six assists, and Portis had 12 points and 13 rebounds.
Milwaukee led by seven with just 2:32 left to go, but the Bulls pulled within two with just over a minute remaining. DeMar DeRozan missed what would have been a go-ahead 3-pointer with 23 seconds left, and Middleton sunk a pair of free throws to secure the win and give the Bucks back-to-back wins for the first time since Dec. 30 and Jan. 1.
DeRozan reached the 30-point mark for the second straight game, finishing with 35 on 9-of-18 shooting along with six rebounds. Nikola Vucevic collected 19 points and 11 rebounds, and Matt Thomas provided a spark off the bench with 11 points.
The Bulls had their worst performance of the season from 3-point range, as they made just 7 of 38 (18.4 percent).
Thanks to 16 first-half points from Antetokounmpo, Milwaukee went into the break with a 45-44 lead. DeRozan led all scorers with 18 points to keep Chicago close, and Vucevic added nine to go along with six rebounds.
Neither team shot the ball efficiently from deep before halftime, but the Bulls especially struggled, going just 2-for-17. The Bucks shot 26.3 percent from beyond the arc, but dominated the battle in the paint, outscoring Chicago 20-10.
Grayson Allen was ejected in the third quarter after a foul on Alex Caruso was deemed a flagrant 2. He finished with five points and three rebounds on 2-of-5 shooting.
Offense came at a premium through the first 12 minutes, as both teams shot under 40 percent from the field and 20 percent from 3-point range. Antetokounmpo was still able to find his groove, scoring 10 of the Milwaukee’s 24 points as the Bucks led 24-20.
–Field Level Media
