CHICAGO — The Milwaukee Bucks are preparing for what they hope will be a deep playoff run. They hit the right notes more.
Giannis Antetokounmpo dominated with 46 points and 16 rebounds and the Bucks beat the Chicago Bulls 113-97 on Friday night.
Antetokounmpo passed Sidney Moncrief as the winningest Milwaukee player with his 489th victory counting the playoffs, and the Bucks came away with their fifth straight victory.
There were several heated exchanges and Chicago’s Nikola Vucevic was ejected. Otherwise, there wasn’t much drama.
The Bucks led by 14 at halftime and went on a 17-0 run after Chicago found itself down eight early in the fourth. They also allowed fewer than 100 points for a fourth straight game.
“We’re winning games, but for us it’s not the time,” said coach Doc Rivers, who is 8-7 since replacing the fired Adrian Griffin. “Our whole key is to prepare. That’s the first thing I told them. We still have work to do, we continue to push, we have to improve. It’s nicer to win than to lose, but we’re not where we want to be yet.
But the signs, at least lately, are promising, particularly on defense. It was the sixth time in the last nine games that the Bucks held an opponent under 100 points; they only did it once in the first 52.
“Everyone has to be on the same page, and I feel like the last two games we’re doing that and that’s why our defense has taken a step forward,” Antetokounmpo said, author of six assists and two 3-point baskets. “I hope we can continue like this.”
Damian Lillard scored 16 points. Patrick Beverley added 14 points to help the Bucks beat the Bulls for the third time in four games this season.
Chicago’s DeMar DeRozan became the 35th player in NBA history with 23,000 points. The six-time All-Star scored 12 points – all but two in the second half – and was 5 of 13 from the field after missing his first six shots.
DeRozan got into the game with Bobby Portis late in the third quarter. He committed a flagrant and technical foul on the play and criticized the referees after the game.
“I think as far as officiating goes, suffice to say it’s fair,” DeRozan said. “I think that’s more where the frustration comes from. When you go down, you feel like you’re being hit. They come down and we barely touch them but they get the call. This kind of sting. I think it was precisely the fairness of the calls that was the main element of our frustration, more than anything else.
Coby White scored 22 points.
Vucevic had 17 points and nine rebounds before being ejected early in the fourth quarter. Upset by a non-call when he missed a shot, he then committed a serious foul on a driving AJ Green and was ejected with 9:27 remaining.
The score was 84-76 after White made two foul shots just under a minute into the fourth. But Green hit a 3 and the Bucks buried the Bulls from there.
“Right now, it’s just a matter of confidence,” Antetokounmpo said. “We just have to trust each other. That’s it, win or lose. … (When we lose), it’s going to stink, but we have to have the same confidence.”
Antetokounmpo had 23 points and eight rebounds as the Bucks took a 58-44 halftime lead.
The two-time MVP simply did what he wanted, whether he was making layups and dunks or setting up his teammates. He delivered a highlight play in the opening minutes when he drove and threw a no-look over-the-shoulder pass to Brook Lopez near the top of the key for a 3.
The Bucks led by 15 in the first quarter before the Bulls got within four early in the second. Milwaukee outscored Chicago 14-6 over the final four minutes of the half to open a six-point game. Lillard started this push with a finger roll and two free throws.
Antetokounmpo made an alley-oop layup in the final minute to make it a 13-point game. DeRozan then got his first two points for Chicago by making two free throws, but Jae Crowder made a corner 3 at the buzzer to send the Bucks to the locker room with a 14-point lead.
FOLLOWING
Bucks: Host the Los Angeles Clippers on Monday night.
Bulls: At Sacramento Monday night. ——
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