Giddey does it all as Bulls top Bucks |
CHICAGO - The best part about playing the same team twice in a week is that it allows you to respond should you lose the first time. That is what the Chicago Bulls (14-18) were up against on Saturday as they welcomed the Milwaukee Bucks (16-13) to the United Center for their second meeting since Monday.
The last time these teams met, the Bulls went through one of their worst shooting performances of the season and managed to lose to the Bucks without their two best players. That made that loss extra painful as the Bulls once again came into this matchup down a key piece as Ayo Dosunmu is expected to miss extended time with a calf injury. There was some good news for Chicago as both Lonzo Ball and Josh Giddey returned to the lineup, while the Bucks were once again without their best player, Giannis Antetokoumpo. The addition of Giddey to the starting lineup was a massive lift, as it was one of the few times since the start of the season that the Bulls had their opening night starting five together. Apparently, that is all the Bulls needed to get back on track, as Giddey posted his second triple-double of the season to lead the Bulls past Milwaukee 116-111. Giddey is one of those players playing for a long-term deal, and he has always had the ability to put up games like this. You're starting to see more of that lately, and with 23 points to lead the team, he finally had the scoring night he was waiting for. Giddey has always been a guy who does more than just score, as evidenced by his 15 rebounds and 10 assists, as he did a little of everything in the victory. While Giddey may have been the story of the night for Chicago, the Bulls did benefit from three starters putting up 20 or more points, including big man Nikola Vucevic, who got back to his early-season form with 23 points and 13 boards. Despite his rough night from three, going just 1-5, Coby White does seem to be shooting his way out of a prolonged slump. He connected on better than 50% of his total shots to finish with 22 points, and the Bulls had plenty of contributions throughout. Chicago also benefitted from Zach Lavine taking a back seat to finish with 15 points, as those were the main threats to the Bucks' defense. Patrick Williams rounded out the starting five with nine points, while Lonzo Ball returned to the lineup in a big way, sinking three triples from the bench to finish with nine points. Chicago was much more efficient from the field this time as they shot just under 48% for the game, including 38% from distance. Anytime the Bucks are down Giannis, and you're set to play them, you must take advantage of the opportunity. He is a top-three player in this league and has owned the Bulls for the past decade. His absence is a massive blow to the Bucks, but they still have enough firepower to deliver some big wins. Damian Lillard is a big reason why. The perennial All-Star has taken some bumps during his time with the Bucks but is starting to round back into form this season. He has been much more consistent in year two than in his first year, and with a game-high 29 points and 12 assists, he continues to show he can carry the offensive load. It will take much more than just a big game from Lillard to make up for the loss of the Greek Freak, and the Bucks were fortunate enough to have plenty of production. Brook Lopez had his second straight big game against Chicago with 22 points, as did Bobby Portis, who put in 14 points and pulled down nine boards. The addition of Khris Middleton back into the Milwaukee lineup has also been a big lift for them. He finished with 21 points in what was another balanced scoring attack from Milwaukee. The biggest key to the game was the Williams vs. Andre Jackson Jr. matchup, as that determined the outcome of this game. Not only did the Bulls' and Bucks' big fours put up near identical numbers, but so did the bench, as Milwaukee outscored the Bulls by four in those aspects. Williams' nine points, compared to Jackson's no points, were the difference in the win, as Chicago got back on the winning side of things.
WINDY CITY PULLS AWAY FROM THE BLUE COATS
With the Winter Showcase part of the G-League season now complete, it is time to focus on the regular season. For Windy City, that started with a pair of games on the road against the Delaware Blue Coats as the Bulls are looking for better results than the first half of the season.
Things didn't get off to a great start to kick things off on Friday when the Blue Coats took it to Windy City for a blowout win. On the flip side, the Bulls returned the favor on Saturday as they used a 33-25 fourth quarter to turn a two-point game into a 115-105 victory. This was a win the team needed after finding out DJ Steward was released earlier in the day, as the Bulls must now replace their leading scorer.
Several guys will have to step up their game in order to do that, and Marcus Domask took it upon himself to do that on Saturday, leading the Bulls with 26 points. Domask has seen an increase in minutes over the last month, and with that has come better production, as he added nine boards and six assists to his big-scoring night.
He was one of six players to land in double figures for Windy City, including two with 20 points, as Ben Coupet Jr had one of his better outings of the season with 20 points and nine boards. You also had Ryan Arcidiacono picking up 16 points and Adama Sanogo adding 12 points as the Bulls starting five played well.
Along with them, both Jordan Hall and Alex Schumacher came up huge off the bench with 10 points, as the Bulls had more than enough offense to make up for the loss of Steward. Like Windy City, Delaware had plenty of scoring across the board, with Jeff Dowtin Jr leading all scorers with 28 points.
He was one of five Blue Coats players in double figures, including four starters, as Isaiah Mobley added 20 points to give the Blue Coats a nice combo. Justin Edwards (14 points) and Patrick McCaw (11 points) rounded out the starting five for Delaware, with Jarron Cumberland (13 points) coming off the bench in the loss.
