The Milwaukee Bucks (26-22) also won the third game in a row under interim coach Joe Prunty. The 110:96 against the Chicago Bulls (18-32) eliminates doubts very early on. Giannis Antetokounmpo starts weak, but in the end he is the dominant figure on the court again.
Shortly before the game, the Bucks had announced that the current Rookie of the Year Malcolm Brogdon was once again unavailable, so new coach Joe Prunty let Eric Bledsoe, Tony Snell, Khris Middleton, Giannis Antetokounmpo and John Henson take off again – this quintet was first played with Jerian Grant, Zach LaVine, Justin Holiday, LaVine, LaVine. In the first few minutes, however, both teams did not appear to have played together at all.
The first few minutes were extremely slow before Milwaukee got stronger from downtown and the Bulls slowly picked up a rhythm as Fred Hoiberg switched over and put the ball more in Denzel Valentine’s hands. After twelve minutes, the Bucks were still leading 26:20, but by the end of the break the lead had even increased to 20 points. Antetokounmpo scarcely took place in the first half (8 points, 4/11 FG), but Milwaukee scarcely met his threes (10/16!) – and since Chicago, with the exception of Valentine (16 points in the first half), was barely able to fight back, it was enough for a 61:42 lead to the break.
The Bucks then took advantage of this comfortable advantage to experience a rather relaxed second half, especially as Antetokounmpo also intervened more actively in the game and delivered some spectacular actions. The Bulls had some intermediate peaks, but they didn’t become dangerous to the Bucks – it was already clear early on that the Bucks under Prunty would also win the third game.
After a strong second half, Bucks’ top scorer was again Antetokounmpo – the Greek player scored 27 points (11/19 FG), 9 rebounds and 8 assists. This was achieved by Khris Middleton (20), Jason Terry (12), Sterling Brown (12) and Henson (12) for scoring.
In the Bulls, five players scored double-digit points, with Valentine remaining top scorer with 18 points. Rookie Lauri Markkanen got a double-double (17 points, 10 rebounds). Paul Zipser only made it to the Court 1’42 “before the end.
Chicago Bulls vs. Milwaukee Bucks: Click here for the BOXSCORE!
Giannis Antetokounmpo. Even though he had a difficult position at first and was well defended, the Greek found a way to bite his way into this game and then, in the second half, to be the dominant figure again. Apart from the points, playmaking is also getting better and better – it will be interesting to see how his role under Prunty will develop further. After the weak start Giannis hit 10 of 12 throws! Also strong in this game: Khris Middleton.
Zach LaVine. Of course, LaVine isn’t the same again and you don’t have to blame him for that – but as long as the Bulls give him as many of the game parts as he does at the moment, he’s hurting the team. It’s the same in this game. The Shooting Guard played some fine passes, but he also shot one ticket at a time (2/11 FG). And what was especially problematic was that he stopped attacks again and again by holding the ball and thinking about it. The timing is just not there yet.
The NBA live at SPOX! All games in the LIVESTREAM calendar!
Without a classic defender for Giannis (well, who’s got it?) Hoiberg had to get creative and so he just tried it with almost all the players running around Milwaukee. Especially with smaller opponents like Holiday and LaVine the Greek Freak had a hard time at the beginning. However, he grooved in better over time – and as the shooters met so surely, he got more and more space to operate with the time. But: Hoiberg’s approach was certainly not wrong.