Bulls 109, Bucks 94: Chicago's urgency prevents series sweep

One team played with urgency.

The other team? Not so much.

That’s one explanation for the Milwaukee Bucks being routed by the Chicago Bulls, 109-94, in Sunday's matinee game at the BMO Harris Bradley Center.

Jimmy Butler dished out a career-high 14 assists and Nikola Mirotic kept draining threes as he finished with a game-high 28 points for the Bulls, who avoided a season series sweep by Milwaukee. Point guard Rajon Rondo barely missed a triple-double with 18 points, nine assists and nine rebounds.

The two teams had not met since New Year's Eve when the Bucks cruised to a 116-96 victory at the United Center to go 3-0 against the Bulls. But this time it was the red-clad fans from Chicago doing the cheering.

"This was for their season," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said. "If they lost, their season is over. They came out and were the aggressors. Those veteran guys knew what was on the line.

"Another loss makes it extremely hard for them; they would have to count on other teams."

Instead, Chicago (35-39) moved within 2½ games of the sixth-place Bucks and one-half game of eighth-place Miami in the tight Eastern Conference playoff race. Milwaukee (37-36) missed out on a chance to move into fifth after Atlanta lost at home to Brooklyn earlier Sunday and stayed ahead of seventh-place Indiana on the basis of a tiebreaker.

"It was a plain and simple game today," Bucks guard Malcolm Brogdon said. "They outplayed us."

The Bucks had won 11 of their last 13 games before stumbling to the lopsided loss, and they had limited their last three opponents to fewer than 100 points. But the Bulls scored 35 points in the third quarter to take control, and they led, 98-81, after going on a 7-2 run at the start of the fourth quarter.

"They beat us to loose balls; they made shots," Bucks center Greg Monroe said. "They played a really good game. It looked like they were fighting for their playoff hopes.

"We had to come out and match their intensity and we didn't do that."

Giannis Antetokounmpo led Milwaukee with 22 points, eight rebounds and four assists in 37 minutes. Monroe had 16 points and Khris Middleton 14.

But the Bucks could not slow down Mirotic or the Bulls’ perimeter game as Chicago hit 10 of 21 from three-point range and shot 54.1% overall, making 46 of 85 field goals.

      BOX SCORE: Bulls 109, Bucks 94

"He was hitting a lot of open shots," Brogdon said of Mirotic, who went 11 for 14 overall and hit 6 of 9 three-point tries. "We were late on our rotations. The past five or six games our rotations have been phenomenal.

"They've been early; they've been on time. And tonight they just weren't. I think it's more mental than anything. We have to clean it up and get back to playing the defense we play."

The Bucks head back on the road to play Charlotte and Boston in a back-to-back set on Tuesday and Wednesday, and those will be vital games as they try to secure a playoff spot in the East.

"I think it is easier because of where our confidence is," Brogdon said. "This doesn't shock our confidence. This just humbles us again and makes us realize we're just not going to go out here and beat everybody. We have to bring the same level of intensity every night.

"We put ourselves in a great spot the last couple weeks. We want to stay in this spot and possibly put ourselves in a better position, so we've got to finish out strong."

Kidd said he wasn't worried about Middleton's shooting struggles. On Friday the Bucks forward went 1 for 13 in a win over Atlanta, and he was 6 for 17 on Sunday.

"I thought he was going great there to start the game," Kidd said. "Everyone thought he was going to have one of those big nights.

"Khris is a pro and he understands what he has to do. Khris is a guy that understands how to fix his shot and he doesn't need anyone to tell him."

Middleton said he isn't worried about it.

"I thought I got a couple good looks. I forced a couple I probably shouldn't have shot," Middleton said. "I felt they were good; they just didn't go in for me. But I'll be fine."

Middleton said Butler and Rondo did a great job of collapsing the Bucks defense and kicking out to the three-point shooters.

"I don't think he was iso-ing guys and firing it up," the Bucks forward said of Mirotic. "He was using Jimmy and Rondo to his advantage."

Butler said the Bulls defense was much improved as it rebounded after allowing 117 points to Philadelphia in a home-court loss on Friday.

"I can actually say that we played some legitimate defense tonight," Butler said. "We got back in transition. It always helps when you're making shots, don't get me wrong, but we came out and stuck to the game plan of getting back."

       THREE TAKEAWAYS

       1. – The Bulls shot 59.5% in the first half (25 of 42 field goals) and took a 56-55 halftime lead after trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half.

       2. – The Bucks’ frustrations spilled over early in the fourth quarter when Khris Middleton complained to referee Steve Anderson about a no-call and was hit with a technical foul. Meanwhile, Jimmy Butler drilled a three-pointer and when he hit the free throw for the technical, the Bulls had a four-point play and a 96-81 lead. "That was just a bad job by me," Middleton said. "The ref did a good job of calling the tech. I used words that probably should not be used. I could have talked to him in a better way."

      3. – The Bucks had a chance to sweep the Bulls in a season series for the first time since the 2000-’01 campaign. But Chicago played as if its playoff hopes depended on a victory and dominated, delighting the Bulls fans in the audience. Milwaukee beat Chicago three times before Jan. 1, all by double figures.

       UP NEXT

       Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (37-36) vs. Charlotte Hornets (33-40).

       When: 6 p.m. Tuesday.

       Where: Time Warner Cable Arena.

       About the Hornets: Kemba Walker had 31 points and nine assists to lead Charlotte to a 120-106 victory over Phoenix on Sunday. The Hornets are trying to make a late playoff push and play the Bucks twice in the final stretch of the season. Former Badgers star Frank Kaminsky is a key bench player for the Hornets – he had 10 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes vs. the Suns.