The Bucks defeated the Bulls 112-91 behind Middleton, Lopez and Portis

CHICAGO – No superstars, no problem for the Milwaukee Bucks as they won their second straight game without Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, defeating the Chicago Bulls 112-91 on Monday night at the United Center.

“It just shows you where we are now and where we’ve been,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said. “I mean, at the beginning of the year we wouldn’t have won either game. Now we’re not just winning games, we’re winning with a cushion. I thought defensively it was probably one of our best defensive performances tonight.”

The championship core of Khris Middleton, Brook Lopez and Bobby Portis Jr. helped the Bucks take control of the game early and never relinquish it, while Gary Trent Jr. scored 14 points off the bench and fellow guard Andre Jackson Jr., Ryan Rollins, AJ Green and Delon Wright combined for 31 points and grabbed 16 rebounds.

Bucks score:Bucks 112, Bulls 91

Rivers listed all of those guards by name in his postgame review, pointing out that they prevented Chicago’s perimeter players from getting in the game and making good three-point attempts. Milwaukee’s backcourt combinations also did a good job defensively against Bulls All-Star guard Zach LaVine, who scored 14 points on 5 of 13 shooting, and Coby White, who scored 10 points on 4 of 11 shooting.

“Everyone who wanted to protect these guys made it difficult for them,” Wright said of the attack on the two Chicago shooters. “Our big guys also did a good job. That’s a big part of stopping some of those dynamic guards, having good defensive pressure and also helping the bigs stop them from attacking the basket.”

Center Nikola Vučević led Chicago with 17 points and 12 rebounds. Jalen Smith had 14 off the bench for the Bulls.

Portis had his second straight double-double for Antetokounmpo, scoring 19 points and grabbing 13 rebounds. He also continued his playful performance with six assists. Lopez and Middleton each scored 21 points as all nine rotation players scored.

“I love it, I love it, just because everyone works hard,” Middleton said of the balanced effort of replacing Antetokounmpo and Lillard. “You sacrifice so much when our key players are out there doing what they do to complement them. But when these guys are out there, they get a chance to show what they’ve been working on by playing the game the right way. They know they do.” “We’re going to get a little more opportunities, a little more touches and we all know that, so it’s not selfish to say, ‘I’m going to have a night out tonight.’ We’re all trying to figure out how we can help each other.

Defensive rebounding was crucial for Milwaukee, as Chicago shot just 41% (34 of 83) overall and 29.9% (9 of 43) from behind the three-point line while their starters were in the game. The Bulls ended up scoring nine offensive rebounds for 13 second-chance points before the benches were emptied, but some of those missed shots could get their hands just because of the sheer number of chances they had.

“They break the glass, they try to turn you over – we didn’t do any of those things,” Rivers said. “Our guards fully recovered this evening. They recovered well in the last game. Then we just distribute the ball correctly offensively. Khris, Delon, I thought maybe his best game of the year. I thought he contributed the whole game for us tonight.” . Very happy for him.”

Milwaukee won for the fifth time in its last six games to improve to 16-12, while Chicago fell to 13-16.

Khris Middleton shows all-star form

After a rough start (1-4), Middleton looked like a three-time All-Star in the second quarter as he shot 4-5 from the floor, including two rhythm pull-up threes in a personal 10-0 run that sealed the The Bucks’ 10-point lead increased to 49-29.

Middleton, for his part, was hesitant to say it was the best he felt because he wants to keep improving, but he said: “It felt good. I just wanted to be aggressive. With Dame and Giannis out there will be a lot. “I’m trying to use them properly now.

Just over a minute after his second three-pointer, Middleton assisted on a three-pointer by Brook Lopez, securing 13 Bucks points in less than three minutes of play.

“Sometimes in the sports world it’s always a ‘What have you done for me lately?’ and that’s the kind of world we kind of (live in); it sucks because as players we put in so much time and we put in so much work and we kind of get short-changed just because of one game or one performance or because of a series of games where you might not “Looks equal, but he’s ‘him,'” Portis said of Middleton’s game. “That’s all I can really say. After the fade, the right interpretations, the confident shooting of the ball, the leadership he brings. I could go on and on about him. One of my favorite players to play with. Makes the game easier.’ For me out there, it’s not that great when he’s on the pitch.

Middleton continued to play in the second half, hitting a 20-footer and then another pull-up three-pointer to score 17 points in just 14 minutes of play.

The 33-year-old forward backed up his season-best 18 points on Saturday against Washington with a 21-point performance in Chicago in which he made 9 of his 15 shots. He also had five rebounds and handed out five assists.

However, Middleton is still playing on a minutes restriction as he was again limited to 23:22 – although it was obvious he could have gone to around 25 if needed to seal the game.

“Those minutes were fantastic for him,” Rivers said. “To keep him under 25 in the last two games with Dame and Giannis out, and to still keep Khris under 25, that’s huge for us.”

Bull shooting is ice cold

Chicago changed its identity this season by choosing to shoot three-pointers more often, and the Bulls entered the game averaging the second-most three-point attempts in the league (43.9). They also did it at a rate of 37.7%, good for eighth in the NBA.

But on Monday, they nearly shot themselves out of the game in the first 24 minutes, shooting just 6 of 28 (21.4%) in the first half – including a stretch in which they had been out of the game since the 7:36 mark of the first half Nine consecutive goals missed quarters until the 10:28 mark of the second. After taking an 11-8 lead, they also went 0-6 from the field overall and watched as the Bucks took the lead for good with a 12-0 run that gave Milwaukee a 20-11 lead.

The Bucks had a lead of as many as 23 in the first half, and although Chicago had an 11-3 run late in the first half to cut the deficit to 10 and a 10-0 run midway through the third In the fourth quarter that cut the deficit with Milwaukee leading by eight, it never really felt like the Bucks were ever in danger of losing control of the game.

Have you noticed?

With 8:13 minutes left in the third quarter, Bulls guard Zach LaVine – a former participant in the Slam Dunk Contest – launched a quick attack while Bucks guard Ryan Rollins chased him down. But LaVine slowed to get his body into Rollins and then delivered a rather unspectacular dunk. But it was a sign of respect for Rollins, who had chased down Ayo Dosunmu and blocked the Bulls’ dunk attempt about three minutes earlier. LaVine had chased that play and scored the offensive rebound and the easy putback, but he clearly remembered that Rollins wasn’t going to be one to give up anything easy in the open court.

5 numbers

2: Play this season with a starting lineup of Ryan Rollins, Andre Jackson Jr., Taurean Prince, Bobby Portis and Brook Lopez. It is the ninth starting eleven the team has used this season.
4-2: Bucks record without Damian Lillard this season.
5-2: Bucks record if Khris Middleton plays this season.
5-8: Bucks road record this season.
29: Remaining games in which point guard Ryan Rollins can be active after playing 22 minutes against the Bulls on Monday night. The Bucks have 54 regular season games remaining. Rollins is currently a two-way player and players signed to these contracts can only be active for 50 games in a season. Rollins played in his 14th season^Th game against the Bulls, but it was his 21st^st Rollins would be eligible to play in additional games should his contract be converted to a fully guaranteed deal, but in order to do so, the Bucks will need to clear at least one spot on the roster.Bucks coach Doc Rivers: “Listen, we will play who needs to play and if at some point we need to change something, we will. If he proves that. It’s always a competition. And if not, we will try to save as many days as possible.”

Giannis Antetokounmpo is out with back spasms

The Bucks’ MVP candidate missed his second straight game due to back spasms. Earlier in the day it was questionable whether he would play against Chicago, but after taking part in the team’s shootaround at the United Center, he was ruled out.

“He didn’t need to go through (shootaround), he just needed to feel better and he didn’t, so we just sat him down,” Bucks head coach Doc Rivers said.

What is the Bucks’ record without Giannis?

The Bucks are 3-1 in games this season, which Antetokounmpo hasn’t played since the win in Chicago.

More:Analysis: A look at how the Milwaukee Bucks found their identity

Damian Lillard is out due to illness

The All-Star point guard was doubtful to play earlier in the day after suffering a right calf strain during the Bucks’ Emirates NBA Cup run in Las Vegas, but he was not seen at the shootaround and was excluded shortly afterwards. His injury rating was changed later in the day to indicate he was out with a non-COVID illness. This will be the second straight game he has missed, but the first due to illness.

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