The Chicago Bulls boiled over in the second half of a 113-97 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks on Friday night, giving up a series of technical and flagrant fouls as they stumbled to a 16-point blowout.
This was always going to be a controversial game. The United Center was sold out for a late-night special, including a thunderous contingent of Milwaukee Bucks fans. And the opposing roster was filled with familiar faces – Patrick Beverley and Bobby Portis – who were guaranteed to piss off fans and players.
Bulls coach Billy Donovan said he could feel the discontent building in the first quarter, warning officials to keep physicality in check to avoid unnecessary fouls. But the game remained tense until the final 31 seconds of the third quarter, when the Bulls lost control – and, with it, the game.
The meltdown began when DeMar DeRozan took offense to Portis looking down on him after a play. It was a brief moment, but it was enough to provoke an immediate response from DeRozan, who had spoken during a rowdy basketball night.
DeRozan attacked Portis, shoving the attacker in open court. The foul resulted in a flagrant violation of 1 – and an ensuing argument from DeRozan resulted in a technical foul.
“As long as I play this game, I am very respectful” DeRozan said. “I don’t play whole games, looking down on someone, trying to disrespect anyone. My goal is to compete, to do what I want, but if I feel like something is disrespectful in any way, I don’t accept it.
“I wouldn’t do that to anyone else. It’s just my respect for the game.”
DeMar took some offense to Bobby Portis standing over him after a play tonight: “I’m big on respect.” pic.twitter.com/HbRGfvFKCX
– Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) March 2, 2024
The break between quarters could have calmed tensions between the two teams. Instead, the tension intensified over the next three minutes of play.
Alex Caruso committed a technical foul for arguing with the referees in the first 70 seconds of the fourth quarter. And 90 seconds later, Nikola Vučević took out his frustration on AJ Green, swinging his hands at the Bucks guard as he attempted a layup, earning a flagrant foul 2 and an ejection.
At that point, it was over for the Bulls. They were already struggling against the staggering size of the Bucks, whose frontcourt is led by Giannis Antetokounmpo and Brook Lopez. With Vučević out of commission, the Bulls had there’s not much left to slow the onslaught of paint.
“It was just a bit of frustration,” Vučević said. “Not just the non-calls, just built up after a bit of a tough game. It was just difficult. We felt like we were doing really good things. We just let our frustrations get the better of us for a little while.
Here are three takeaways from this defeat.
1. Patrick Beverley acts as the instigator
Few things are more consistent than Beverley’s presence at the start and end of an on-field brawl.
The ancient bull helped spark frustrations in the second half, draping himself over DeRozan on defense and warbling at opponents with every dead ball.
And he relished the aftermath of technicals and expulsion, scoring eight straight points in the fourth quarter before turning to Bulls fans to shout “This is my city” as he returned to the Bucks bench. Beverley cheered loudly at every foul committed against the Bulls and hit the “too small” gesture on rookie Julian Phillips on back-to-back plays.
“We know him,” DeRozan said after the loss. “It’s Pat.” We let our own frustration take over everything else. It seemed like we were reaching out to a specific person on their team and we just thought we weren’t getting good calls.
DeMar DeRozan on facing Patrick Beverley tonight: “We know him. It’s Pat… We let our frustration take over everything else. It seemed like we were reaching out to a specific person on their team and we just thought we weren’t getting good calls. pic.twitter.com/Q7cdpi5XNu
– Julia Poe (@byjuliapoe) March 2, 2024
2. Shooting stagnates
The Bulls aren’t much of a 3-point shooting team, but improvements in consistency from players like Coby White and Ayo Dosunmu have helped narrow the offensive margins this season. Those improvements have stalled, however, as the Bulls struggle with a shooting slump following the All-Star break.
Friday’s performance was a slight step forward as the Bulls went 11 of 27 from 3-point range; White was 2 of 5 and Caruso shot 3 of 6 from behind the arc. But the Bulls are still performing below their pre-All Star average of 11.8 points from 3-point range per game.
3. A Diminished Milestone
It was especially a night to forget for DeRozan, who showed signs of wear and tear after playing more minutes than any other NBA player this season besides White. He finished with 12 points and nine assists, sitting out most of the fourth quarter for some much-needed rest.
But the game also included a little piece of history for DeRozan, who became the 35th player in NBA history to reach 23,000 career points. He is one of six active players to reach this milestone.
