Always Keep Them Guessing
The still unpredictable Bulls hand the Bucks their third loss in 14 games.
After blowing a first quarter lead and losing big to the 76ers on Friday, the Bulls flipped the script and did the same to Giannis Antetokounmpo and the Milwaukee Bucks. Chicago won the game 109–94 thanks to 28 points from Nikola Mirotic and 14 assists from Jimmy Butler.
After the first frame, it looked as if we were in for another lackluster Bulls performance that would lead to the Bucks sweeping the season series for only the second time in history. The Bulls, however, went on an impressive run in the second quarter and went into halftime up one. Mirotic was a big part of the comeback. He shot 7-of-8 from the field in the first half, leading the charge for the team to shoot 59.5 percent in the first half. Butler finished the half with nine assists, only three short of his career high.
When the second half came around, the Bulls kept up the impressive play and opened up a significant lead over Milwaukee. They scored 35 points in the third quarter, including 14 from Rajon Rondo. Every Bulls starter had scored in double figures by the time the quarter ended. Mirotic continued his sweet shooting, getting up to 25 points on 10-of-12 shooting. One of his misses also missed so badly that the defense was startled and Rondo could put the rebound back up for a layup, so it should really be 11-of-12 right?
Jimmy Butler stayed out on the floor for the start of the fourth quarter. Fred Hoiberg rightly guessed that the 12-point lead would disappear quickly if Butler wasn’t playing. He would go on to play 39 minutes once it was all said and done, scoring 20 points and dishing 14 dimes. The lead stayed comfortable for the whole quarter, and the Bulls blew out a team that had won 11 of their last 13 games. The Bulls shot 54.1 percent from the field and 47.6 percent from 3-point range, and they assisted on 33 of their 46 field goals.
Nikola Mirotic, for the third season in a row, is having a spectacular March after playing inconsistently for four months. Something about springtime just brings it out of him, apparently. Per NBA.com, Mirotic is averaging 19.2 points per 36 minutes and shooting 47.9 percent from the field and 39.2 percent from behind the arc during the month of March. Over the rest of the season, those numbers drop to 14.6, 39.0 percent and 30.9 percent.
With the Miami Heat losing to the Boston Celtics later in the day, the Bulls move to just a half-game out of the eighth seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. They take on the Cavs in the TNT showdown that we’ve all been waiting for on Thursday. Stay tuned.
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