Bulls 115, Bucks 109: Chicago's second-chance points sink Milwaukee

Friday was National Ugly Sweater Day. Members of the Milwaukee Bucks organization, from co-owner Jamie Dinan to general manager Jon Horst and the team's broadcast crew were decked out in garish, light-up, team-branded ugly sweaters.

The product on the floor matched the theme of the night. At least in regard to the home team.

Throughout the night, the Bucks played tight with the Chicago Bulls — a team that entered the BMO Harris Bradley Center with seven wins — but ultimately came up short, 115-109.

The defeat was the second in as many games for the Bucks this week with a matchup against the Rockets — the best team in the Western Conference — looming in Houston on Saturday. The Bulls improved to 5-0 since the return of forward Nikola Mirotic.

Chicago dominated the boards, especially on the offensive end. The Bulls grabbed 14 of their own misses, led by Robin Lopez, who scooped up six offensive rebounds. Bobby Portis had a career-high 27 points and 12 rebounds, including a pair of offensive boards.

Those extra chances resulted in 24 points for the Bulls.

BOX SCORE: Bulls 115, Bucks 109

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“That was a big thing tonight," Bucks coach Jason Kidd said of struggling to secure defensive rebounds. "For us, they missed the first shot but they didn’t miss the second shot. We couldn’t get a rebound. Understanding Thon (Maker) and John (Henson), but it’s not just the bigs, it’s the guys that are on the floor. We just couldn’t come up with a rebound. Portis and Lopez dominated the boards offensively and they capitalized.”

With centers Henson and Maker falling short in their task of securing defensive rebounds — and then getting in foul trouble to boot — Kidd opted to go with a lineup of Eric Bledsoe, Malcolm Brogdon, Khris Middleton, Rashad Vaughn and Giannis Antetokounmpo for the final eight minutes of the game.

That lineup made up the three-point deficit it inherited but never strung positive outcomes together at either end. The Bucks tied the score with just over three minutes left, but a bucket by Portis followed by a Bledsoe turnover and a Mirotic three-pointer swung the tide in favor of the Bulls with the score at 109-104.

Those points were part of an 8-2 Bulls run that started with Brogdon fouling Justin Holiday on a three-point attempt.

“That’s two games in a row when we just didn’t get stops," Middleton said. "It started in New Orleans and it transferred over here tonight where late in the game we couldn’t get the stops that we had been earlier in the season. And then executing on the offensive end. We’ve just got to work on it. Figure out a couple plays we can run down the stretch on the offensive end and then work on just staying solid and playing to the coverages that we’re supposed to.”

Middleton admitted that playing with an altered crunch time lineup made things a little different for the Bucks on both ends, but noted that they all still know what they were supposed to be doing at both ends.

He took responsibility for his own miscommunications and issues on defense, especially in the fourth quarter. Those included failing to switch with Bledsoe on a pick-and-roll that led to an and-one for Kris Dunn — and Middleton spiking the ball into the stanchion in frustration — as well as giving up a clear path to Mirotic for a layup that was blocked by Antetokounmpo at the rim.

"I had two big eff ups late in the game," Middleton said. "I gave up a layup and one and then Giannis bailed us out with a block. Just got to do a better job of communicating and just doing what we’re supposed to do staying with the coverages. … It’s just mental lapses that we’ve had and you can’t have those.”

With the Bucks down 109-104 following missed three-pointers by Vaughn and Antetokounmpo, Middleton got fouled shooting a three and made all three free throws to get the Milwaukee within two. But Mirotic, who had 22 points, got a layup through a Vaughn foul at the other end to push the margin back to five with 1:07 left.

Bledsoe and Vaughn then missed three-pointers on the Bucks' next two possessions, ending any hope of a comeback. As a team, the Bucks went 9 of 33 on three-pointers (27.3%), including 3 of 17 (17.6%) in the second half.

“You’ve got to keep shooting, you’ve got to believe the next shot is going in," Kidd said. "We got a lot of wide-open shots that just didn’t go down for us tonight. You’ve got to play perfect when you’re down, defensively and offensively, and we couldn’t get stops nor could we make an open shot tonight.”

Antetokounmpo and Middleton led the Bucks with 29 points each, with Antetokounmpo adding 16 rebounds. Bledsoe had 12 points and seven assists but also collected five turnovers.

The loss, Milwaukee's second in as many games this week, represents a definite missed opportunity. Not only did they drop a home game to rebuilding Bulls team, but the Bucks' next two contests are against the Rockets and the Cleveland Cavaliers, two of the best teams in the NBA.

"We lost a big opportunity right now, playing against the Pelicans and Chicago," Antetokounmpo said. "We lost both games. We've got a tough schedule coming up. I think we lost an opportunity to do something good here, but we just have to keep playing hard. We've got another one tomorrow. That's what's great about the NBA and we gotta go get that one tomorrow."

BEHIND THE BOX SCORE

Going deep: The Bucks had only 11 players available for Friday's game due to injuries and two-way forward Joel Bolomboy going back to the G League. For one of the rare nights this season, everyone got off the bench for minutes in the first half.

"Knocking down some of the minutes for the guys," Kidd said of his reasoning for playing everyone in the first half. "Also, giving the other guys an opportunity to play. D.J. (Wilson) and Sterling (Brown) got an opportunity and I thought they did fine."

The Bucks used their full complement of bench players by the beginning of the second quarter when Brown joined the fray to open the period and immediately splashed a three-pointer from the corner.

Brogdon and Vaughn ended up playing the most off the bench, each logging extensive time in the fourth quarter. Brogdon finished with six points on 3-of-12 shooting in 32 minutes and Vaughn added nine on 3-of-10 shooting in 28 minutes. Vaughn nailed a three-pointer that tied the game with 5:32 left but then missed a pair of open three-point looks in the final three minutes with the Bucks trailing by five each time.

Gaining confidence: Brown played only six minutes in the second quarter, finishing with the three-pointer, a block and a rebound. Brown has logged 35 minutes in six games, both the fewest on the roster.

Still, the rookie second-round pick has been growing in confidence as he's toiled at practice without the benefit of playing time.

“Just making everything become second nature, especially on the defensive end all our sets and schemes and all that," Brown said. "Offensively just getting the plays down pat … and just going out there and finding out how I can contribute.”

His efforts haven't gone unnoticed. Kidd has seen Brown be among the first to arrive for practices and shootarounds and respects his work ethic, saying, "it’s just a matter of time that he’ll get his chance.”

With Vaughn and Brown at the same position, Kidd says experience is the main difference between them.

"Rashad’s third year, so understanding the schemes up to this point gives Rashad the advantage," Kidd said. "But that doesn’t mean Brown isn’t going to play.”

UP NEXT

Teams: Milwaukee Bucks (15-12) vs. Houston Rockets (23-4).

When: 7 p.m. Saturday.

Where: Toyota Center.

About the Rockets: Houston is the NBA's hottest team, taking an 11-game win streak into its game against the San Antonio Spurs on Friday night. The Rockets boast the second-best offensive rating in the league (115.4), just a shade behind the Golden State Warriors (115.5). Houston also owns a top-five defense, with its combination of success on both ends translating to a staggering point differential, with the Rockets outscoring teams 114.8 to 103.7 on a per-game basis. With 31.6 points, 9.4 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game while shooting 40.2% on 10.8 three-point attempts per game, Rockets guard James Harden is putting up MVP numbers. Add in that Houston is 12-0 with Chris Paul on the floor and it features one of the most versatile, talented rosters in the league and the Rockets have become one of the toughest teams in the NBA.

As a team, the Rockets make and attempt more three-pointers per game than any team in the league.

"We have to do a good job defending the three-point line because if we don't, they're going to kill us," Antetokounmpo said. "We just gotta move the ball, play hard. Everything we do offensively has to be hard, hard cuts, hard screens, everything's gotta be hard against a team like Houston."